I’m a parent of three students in the Little Rock School District (at Roberts Elementary and Pinnacle View Middle), and am running to represent families, residents and taxpayers of LRSD’s Zone 9 (northwest Little Rock) on the new LRSD board.
I’m thankful to have this paper’s endorsement and was appalled last week at the depths to which my opponent’s campaign manager would go to make up a race-based controversy. Unfortunately, that’s what happens when a politician runs against an opponent rather than for a vision.
My campaign is about LRSD’s future, about what our schools can be, about the heights they can achieve.
We all know that five years ago, the state Board of Education voted to intervene in our school district. I was appointed to the Community Advisory Board a year later and have spent the last four years volunteering my time trying to make our schools better for our students. Yes, I’m guilty of working in cooperation with the state, rather than in constant opposition to it.
In that time, we opened Pinnacle View Middle School, then expanded on its successes with the addition of (albeit very limited) ninth and 10th grades at what is now called Little Rock West High School of Innovation. While my pleas for a traditional high school in west Little Rock were unsuccessful, I am hopeful that the seed has been planted for what will surely be the city’s most successful high school when the full vision is finally realized.
We built Southwest High School, despite losing in 2017 a campaign to extend a millage to fund that and many other projects, including the repurposing of McClellan High School to replace the (literally) sinking Clover-dale Middle School. After losing the millage vote, I supported the selling of second lien bonds to finally deliver Southwest High School, a promise to the southwest community that was too long delayed. Today, it is the finest high school campus in all of Arkansas and a jewel of our city.
We successfully compelled the reconstitution of one of Arkansas’ lowest performing high schools. There have been hiccups, but I am hopeful that Hall STEAM Magnet High School, with its leadership unbridled, will soon be a leader in the fields of health science, computer science and digital design.
In 2019, after years of misleading reports and after an embarrassing audit of the district’s dyslexia services and literacy strategies, we dove face-first into a massive transition of the Science of Reading curriculum to address chronic failures in reading.
We also began improving starting teacher salaries after ranking 100th in Arkansas. Today we’re somewhere near 70th, with a long way to go to compete where we should.
We did all of this while doing the painful work of balancing a constantly declining budget. I entered this campaign with that perspective, with a vision of building on our work and continuing to improve.
First and foremost, the next school board must keep a laser focus on reading achievement with a strong emphasis on and accountability for grade-level reading. This is key to closing the unconscionable Black/ white achievement gap in our district (the largest in all of Arkansas).
We must commit to investing in more competitive teacher salaries, from the first day of teachers’ careers to the last. A ranking of 70th is not acceptable. We must give them every tool they need to succeed.
We must invest in schools where people live. If we want to retain and/ or attract families that have left our district, there is no more fertile region than west Little Rock. It is the fastest growing part of town and is where we have the most competition. If we commit to a traditional high school in west Little Rock, we can win families back and the per-pupil revenue that comes with them.
We must also revitalize facilities throughout our district to create a warm experience for every student in every neighborhood.
Finally, we must resolve to return civility to our discussions and commit to mutual respect for our colleagues. The bickering and division must end.
I am the only candidate that has championed these priorities and will continue to do so should I be elected in November.
After decades of federal control and nearly six years of state control, it is finally up to us, the citizens of Little Rock, to realize the promise and potential of the most historically significant school district in America, to re-imagine a vibrant future for our schools and our city.
To that end, I am not running against anyone for the Little Rock School Board. I am running for families, for taxpayers, and for citizens to ensure excellent, nearby, public education for all students, no matter their color, how much money they have, or where they live.
Jeff Wood is a father of three Little Rock School District students, chairman of the Little Rock School District Community Advisory Board, and a candidate for Zone 9 of the Little Rock School Board.