City announces 4 'community schools' in Little Rock district

Chief Education Officer Dr. Jay Barth and Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., right, announce several key education initiatives Thursday Sept. 3, 2020 in Little Rock during a press conference at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)
Chief Education Officer Dr. Jay Barth and Mayor Frank Scott, Jr., right, announce several key education initiatives Thursday Sept. 3, 2020 in Little Rock during a press conference at the Hillary Rodham Clinton Children's Library. (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/Staton Breidenthal)

Jay Barth, the city of Little Rock’s chief education officer, announced the first four schools that will be a part of a new “community schools” model in a video on Wednesday.

The city and the Little Rock School District are coordinating to implement a holistic approach to education at the four elementary schools, where the schools become neighborhood “hubs” that provide resources to students in need and their families, such as social services and after-school activities.

“The four schools announced today will be the start of Little Rock’s commitment to showing support for vulnerable students and neighborhoods,” Barth said in the video.

The four schools are:

• Booker T. Washington Elementary

• Chicot Elementary

• Stephens Elementary

• Watson Elementary

Mayor Frank Scott Jr. hired Barth in late 2019 to coordinate the community schools program and other educational initiatives.

Read Thursday’s Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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