EDUCATION NOTEBOOK: Central High used as filming location | $11.3M heading to 84 programs | Education Board to meet in Rogers


Central High used as filming location

It can be told now, Little Rock Central High Principal Nancy Rousseau announced Saturday in an email to parents and others: Apple TV used Central late last year as the setting for an episode of "Gutsy Women" that features members of the Little Rock Nine.

The program will be aired Friday.

The series is the result of a book, "The Book of Gutsy Women: Favorite Stories of Courage and Resilience" by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Chelsea Clinton.

"I have had to keep this under wraps for all this time," Rousseau wrote.

"All the library doors were covered, but as careful as we were in keeping the secret, several students spied the Clintons being filmed as they walked down the first floor (while classes were in session) to enter the library and of course, snapped a photo on their trusty iPhones. It made it to Facebook where lots of questions were asked, the Dem/Gaz and Arkansas Times reached out, but mum was the word till now! It was a fun adventure which is finally going to be shared."

Sept. 25 this year marks the 65th anniversary of 1957's desegregation of Central High by nine Black teenagers. Several events are being planned to mark the anniversary.

$11.3M heading to 84 programs

A total of $11.3 million in federal American Rescue Plan funding is being awarded to 84 after-school, summer and extended-year programs across the state.

The Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, Arkansas State University and its sponsored initiative, the Arkansas Out of School Network, are distributing the funds to the different organizations that will use the money to mitigate student learning loss that occurred as the result of the covid-19 pandemic.

This is an expanded, second round of funding to school districts and community-based programs such as libraries, faith-based organizations and higher education institutions. There are 28 new recipient organizations and 56 organizations that are receiving continuation grant awards. The maximum award for round two grants is $150,000. The grants must be used between Sept. 1, 2022, and Aug. 31, 2023.

The grant recipients are listed here: https://www.astate.edu/news/ade-a-state-and-out-of-school-network-award-11-3-million-for-afterschool-learning.

More information about the Arkansas Out of School Network is available here: www.aosn.org.

Education Board to meet in Rogers

The Arkansas Board of Education will hold its monthly meeting this month at a location away from its typical meeting place in the Arch Ford Education Building on state Capitol grounds in Little Rock.

The board will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday in the administration building for the Rogers School District, 500 W. Walnut in Rogers.

The event will be a one-day onsite meeting with a virtual option for presenters. Individuals critical to the logistical operations of the meeting will be physically present with limited availability for the public. Individuals are encouraged to watch via live stream at https://bit.ly/39EiaSY.

There will be limited access to the public to view via livestream in designated areas within the Rogers administration building.


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