Carol B. Fleming, a speech language pathologist in the Little Rock School District, began work Monday in her new role as president of the Arkansas Education Association, the state’s largest union of educators and support staff.
Fleming, 52, was elected to the two-year term earlier this year over incumbent Cathy Koehler, who was seeking a second term in the statewide position.
Most recently on the faculty at Little Rock’s Pulaski Heights Middle School, Fleming has worked with students for 20 years.
“I am coming to this new role straight out of the classroom, and have been living and breathing the issues facing Arkansas’s teachers,” she said. “I have a close working knowledge of what we must do to improve our students’ learning environments.”
Koehler and Fleming had vied in 2017 for the state leadership role, with Koehler winning the seat at that time. A former president of the Little Rock Education Association, Koehler said this weekend on social media that she will be returning to a job as a library/media specialist in the Little Rock School District.