Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has appointed Leigh Keener to the Arkansas State Board of Education, the governor announced Friday.
Keener, a former teacher and childhood friend of Sanders, will fill an open position on the board formerly held by Fitz Hill. Keener has been appointed to a seven-year term.
Leigh taught first grade at Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock and has a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education and a master’s degree in elementary education from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. She also earned a certification in early education leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Keener served on the early learning working group for the LEARNS Act, which helped steer the rulemaking process for the new law, and was a member of Sanders’ campaign “Educators for Sarah Coalition.”
As a member of the board, Keener will help oversee the state’s implementation of the LEARNS Act, an expansive law to overhaul education that Sanders made a top priority in the last session.
“Leigh isn’t here because she’s one of my best friends," Sanders said during Friday's announcement. "She’s here because she is one of our state’s best experts in education.”