Thomas takes top
Arkadelphia post
Nikki Thomas, superintendent of the Gurdon School District since July 2020 but a former 21-year employee of the Arkadelphia School District, is returning to the Arkadelphia district in the role of superintendent, effective July 1.
Thomas replaces Karla Neathery, who was the Arkadelphia school system chief since 2019. Neathery was selected in February to become the Sheridan School District superintendent starting with the 2022-23 school year.
Thomas began her career in Arkadelphia as a classroom teacher at Goza Middle School and has served as principal at each of the current Arkadelphia campuses as well as assistant principal at Arkadelphia High School, according to information released by the district. Thomas also worked in the Bismarck School District as the K-12 curriculum coordinator.
She has a bachelor's degree in education from Ouachita Baptist University and a master's in educational leadership from Henderson State University. Thomas is currently enrolled at Arkansas Tech University working toward a doctorate in educational leadership.
LR, Pulaski Special
boards shift dates
The school boards for the Little Rock and Pulaski County Special School districts have altered their typical meeting dates for this month.
The School Board for the Pulaski County Special School District will meet at 5:30 p.m. Monday for its regular monthly business meeting. Scheduling conflicts resulted in the meeting being held a week early.
The Little Rock School Board, which had to postpone its May 26 regular monthly meeting to accommodate abrupt changes in high school graduation times, now has a very full agenda to address at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Scholarship sign-up
deadline Monday
Monday is the deadline for submitting applications for the state's Succeed Scholarship Program, which provides more than $7,000 a year to cover private school tuition and fees for K-12 students who meet eligibility requirements.
Students who have been diagnosed with a disability or live in a foster home or are dependents of active military personnel are among those who can qualify for public funding for private school tuition.
The application period began May 31.
If the number of eligible applicants exceeds the amount of scholarship funding available, scholarships may be awarded through a random lottery.
Remaining applications will be kept on file should additional scholarships become available during the school year but will not be kept beyond the current school year if a scholarship is not awarded.
The application portal is available at https://bit.ly/3tbZnIg.