Educator selected for visit to border
Buff Easterly, a theology teacher at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock, has been selected to serve on an immigration delegation that will travel to the U.S.-Mexico border later this spring.
The Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team is organizing the trip in collaboration with ARISE, a community-based and Mercy co-sponsored program that works in south Texas to strengthen communities.
During the trip that will take place March 31 through April 5, the group of Mercy leaders, associates and ministry partners will learn more about issues at the U.S.-Mexico border and the root causes of migration.
The itinerary includes a trip to the border wall and meeting with Border Patrol agents as well as visits to a detention center for children, a church-based refugee center and ARISE Community Organizing Centers.
The experience is designed to strengthen the participants' capacity to advocate and educate others in their communities about immigration and its root causes upon returning home.
"I work hard to present factual information to my students," Easterly said. "I want to speak to 'immigrants,' aid workers and government officials, and then frame my own opinions. I want to speak to my students with authority about this issue that has become so contentious."
LR advisory board to convene today
The 2019-20 school year budget and status reports on plans for Hall High and Pinnacle View Middle schools are among the items on the agenda for today's 5:30 p.m. meeting of the Little Rock School District's Community Advisory Board.
Also on the agenda are reports about the district's services to students with dyslexia and special-education needs.
Previously, the advisory board had asked the district staff members to propose ways to enhance the academic program at Hall, which is a school that received an F-grade from the state.
District leaders are planning to add a ninth-grade class to Pinnacle View in the coming school year and then expanding into additional high school grades in subsequent years.
The seven-member advisory panel reviews operations in the state-controlled school system and makes recommendations to Education Commissioner Johnny Key on employee and other matters.
The board meets at the district's administration building, 810 W. Markham St.
Teacher job fair scheduled in NLR
The 2019 Educator Career Fair -- open to teachers and people who are considering teaching careers -- will take place 3-7 p.m. Monday at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 2 Riverfront Place, in North Little Rock.
The Arkansas Department of Education is hosting the event.
"Monday's career fair will be our largest career fair in recent years," Jeff Dyer, the agency's teacher recruitment and retention program adviser, said. "The teaching profession is one of the more rewarding careers available, and we encourage everyone to consider it as an option."
Representatives from more than 50 public and private school systems, including charter school systems and one district from Longview, Texas, will be available to present information about current job openings in their systems.
Additionally, attendees will have the opportunity to talk with staff members from the state Education Department, as well as with education service cooperatives and colleges and universities about the variety of ways available to become an Arkansas teacher.
Information will also be available on how current state teacher license holders can add areas of licensure to an existing state teaching license.
Education Department staff members will be available to assist candidates in acquiring the background checks and fingerprinting necessary for the education jobs.
More information about the event, including a list of scheduled attendees, is available online: https://bit.ly/2ItJEiR.
Information on how to become a teacher also can be found online: http://bit.ly/2sImb5q.
Metro on 02/28/2019