INSIDE:
PB Bus Drivers Win Pay Increase • Instilling a Love of Reading at School for the Deaf PROUDLY PUBLISHED BY THE ARKANSAS EDUCATION ASSOCIATION VOLUME 44 N O 2 | SUMMER 2022 ARKANSAS
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From local school boards to the state Capitol and Congress, elected officials make decisions directly impacting your school day. Do not miss the opportunity November 8th to cast your ballot and elect friends of public education. If you want to know your lawmaker’s record on education issues, reach out to the AEA Public Affairs Department!
SUPPORT FRIENDS OF PUBLIC EDUCATION
4 A Letter from the President 5 NEWS FLASH • Interim Director Named • AEA Communications Dept. Awards • New Online AEA PD 7 IN PHOTOS: AEA Gives gift of reading at Read Across America 9 MEMBER PROFILE: Follow the Signs School for the Deaf Students Love Reading 11 PAYAREDUCATORS Public School Advocates Call on Lawmakers to #payAReducators 13 PHOTO RECAP: 2022 NEARA Brings Educators Together Again 15 ESP PROFILE: Driving Equity Pine Bluff Bus Driver secures fair pay for colleagues 19 AEA Hosts Educator Roundtable for Teacher Appreciation Week 21 Know Your UD 23 2022 Virtual Legislative Conference Highlights Fiscal Session, Importance of LOCAL Advocacy 25 From the Desk of the ED 26 REWIND: Healthcare Funding Deficit Activates Educators EDUCATORCONTENTS VOLUME 43 NO 2 SUMMER 2022 PRESIDENT CAROL FLEMING VICE PRESIDENT BRENDA BROWN SECRETARY-TREASURER AUDREY NICHOLS AEA-NEA DIRECTOR BRENDA ROBINSON INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LIZ PICONE EDITOR WYNTER BRESAW VISIT US ONLINE AT: BecomeFollowaeaonline.org/AREducatorusonTwitter@ArkEducationanAEAFacebookfriend. ARKANSAS EDUCATOR is published as a service to all members of the Arkansas Education Association 1500 West 4th Street Little Rock, AR 72201 t: 501-375-4611 f: tf:501-375-4620800-632-0624 ADVERTISERS Advertising contents should be addressed to the Editor. Advertising rates are available upon request. Advertising is printed as a service to readers and publication does not imply Association endorsement. The Association reserves the right to refuse any advertising.
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Hop on the bus in Pine Bluff and find out how ESP members of Pine Bluff Education Association advocated for pay increases. Carol Williams-Rankin was the driving force behind the efforts demonstrating to district administrators that the professional bus drivers were not receiving the appropriate pay for their work. UniServ Director Loranzo Andrews worked closely with PBEA members to secure pay raises and ensure the bus drivers were placed appropriately on the salary pay schedule.
Meet a librarian at the Arkansas School of the Deaf. She learned sign language by spending the summers with her cousin who is deaf. As an educator she reflects that the practice of reading is vital in our public schools, but it is even more important for students who are deaf and/or hard of hearing.
is the cornerstone of our democracy. Educators teach and train individuals for all professions. Now, more than ever, we need to band together to promote the value of our profession which begins with higher pay and recognition from legislators and policymakers.
Together, we have a stronger voice.
SUMMER 2022
ABOUT PRESIDENT FLEMING: Carol B. Fleming MS, CCC-SLP is a speech language pathologist currently serving as President of the Arkansas Education Association. Before taking the helm of the state’s largest association for education professionals, Fleming spent two decades working with students at Pulaski Heights Middle School within the Little Rock School District. Fleming has worked to ensure good public education policies at the local, state and national level. As a parent of an adult with special needs, she is reminded daily of the importance of advocating on behalf of the professions and those served which has fueled her passion for education, leadership, and professional issues. Her goal is to get others to become involved to support successful public schools.
A LETTER FROM THE PRESIDENT
This issue of the Arkansas Educator is going to print as students and educators return to the classroom facing a daunting educator shortage with oversized classrooms and reports of reduced planning time.
In these pages, follow along to see where AEA has given the “Gift of Reading” as part of our statewide initiative to promote literacy. Over the past two years, we have visited schools across the entire state to donate books to students, classes, and school libraries. As a speech-language pathologist, I enjoy reading stories to children and impressing upon them the importance of using their imagination to explore the world and become a critical thinker.
Educators around the state rallied together to call on the state to #PayAREducators. With a $1.6 billion surplus, a call was made for legislators to use the surplus to prioritize Arkansas’s students and raise educator pay. Instead, bonuses using COVID monies were offered which was a distraction from the effort to increase teacher and educator pay across the board.
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This edition has a few recaps of events in which AEA participated – Teacher Appreciation Week and the NEA Representative Assembly. A copy of the Teacher Appreciation Townhall is available on YouTube. Photos of the Arkansas NEA RA delegation, who participated in the first hybrid NEA Representative Assembly in Chicago, IL, can be found in this edition. They represented AEA by participating in daily state caucus meetings, RA Hearings, and the daily business of the NEA Annual Meeting – including voting on New Business Items, electing Executive Committee members, and voting on Resolutions, Policy Statements, and
Finally,Amendments.education
decades, I’ve seen the incredible things educators can accomplish when we work together, and I look forward to working with Arkansas educators to spread the word about AEA’s work to improve student learning conditions and school employee working conditions.”
in her 28th year of association staff experience. She brings a wealth of experience as an Organizational Specialist serving National Education Association members across the country from Pre-K to Higher Ed. Picone has worked in more than 35 states assisting with membership campaigns, political campaigns, leadership development, coaching staff and serving as a thought partner for Executive Directors.
Picone holds degrees from the University of Kansas and Eastern Illinois University. She also holds administration and supervisor certifications from the University of Houston and Sam Houston State University. Picone is a graduate of the Harvard Trade Union program and one of a select group of Association Executives that qualify for the Certified Association Executive (CAE). The CAE credential is the marker of a committed association professional who has demonstrated the wide range of knowledge essential to manage an association in today’s challenging environment.
“Early Enrollment is a wonderful opportunity for educators to join the association and discover the many benefits of membership,” Picone said. “We also look forward to a return to more normal back to school events following years of disruption brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.”
The Arkansas Education Association is excited to announce Liz Picone has taken the helm of the state’s largest professional organization for educators as Interim Executive Director.
Liz will lead the organization over the next year while the AEA Board of Directors conducts a search for a new director and plans to immediately focus on membership growth.
Arkansas Education Association Welcomes Interim Executive Director
Liz Picone Brings Decades of Association Experience
The recruitment drive will begin April 1st, when educators can enroll early to receive benefits for free through the remainder of this school year.
Arkansas teachers and ofwearesupporteducationprofessionalsattheheartofalldoandthesourceAEA’spower.”
“Coming from the classroom, I know the value of an organization that has your back and amplifies educator voice,” she said. “Over the last three
Liz taught Orchestra in the Texas Public Schools for 13 years before she began her association career.
She replaces former Executive Director Tracey Ann-Nelson, who left the association for another position following seven years at AEA.
- Liz InterimPiconeExecutive Director
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NEWSFLASH
Piconelevel.”isnow
“Arkansas teachers and education support professionals are at the heart of all we do and the source of AEA’s power,” Picone said. “Our members allow us to provide professional development programming, educator support and advocacy for students and educators at the local and state
NationalStaffCommunicationsAEATakeHomeHonors
AEA hosts the state’s largest professional development conference each year where you can meet fellow educators from across the state and learn skills to better serve your students, but we have also created a new virtual option for educators to improve their skills and better serve students.
NovemberConferenceDevelopment2022toAEAONLINE.ORGVISITregisterfortheProfessional3–4th!
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AEA’s new online portal offers a chance to earn state approved credit from the comfort of your home!
AEA Creates New ONLINE PD Portal
AEA members can access the courses for free at AEAonline. learnupon.com while nonmembers can take courses for a fee.
AEA had an exceptionally successful year at the 2022 SEAComm conference, a yearly event that celebrates the best Communication Departments at NEA state affiliates. The communications team, Kyle Leyenberger and Wynter Bresaw accepted 9 awards for AEA’s outstanding work. These awards included Best Photography: #OneLRSD Vigil; Special Events Campaign: AEA/ATA Merger 50th Anniversary Gala: Magazine: Arkansas Educator; Membership Material: Why Join Us webpage; NEA-State Affiliate Collaboration: #OneLRSD State Takeover Campaign; Investigative & Analytical Reporting: Buying Arkansas Schools; Video: Pine Bluff Educator Brings Love of Art to Hometown High School; Website: AEAOnline.org/TEACH; and News Story: The Dark Story Theory. We hope to continue this success in the future!
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AEA President Carol Fleming spent Read Across America Day visiting students in Central Arkansas school districts, reading and delivering books. Each young reader received a book, and each school library got a set of books for students and families to enjoy.
“My hope is that these books will bring happiness and excitement to the students and spark their love of reading,” Fleming said.
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My hope is that these books will bring happiness and excitement to the students and spark their love of reading.”
March, AEA continued the visits to provide books to as many schools as possible. Two years ago, AEA initiated the Gift of Reading Program. Since its implementation, we have provided books to libraries throughout the state. The program was expanded this year thanks to a grant from the National Education Association. NEA has awarded more than $50,000 in Read Across America grants to state affiliates to help enhance activities, promote a love of reading, focus attention on the literacy needs and success of students of all ages, and highlight diverse authors.
“As a pathologist,speech-languageIunderstand the importance of reading for our children. It allows our students to broaden their vocabulary, literacy
skills, comprehension, receptive/expressive language skills, and Throughoutimagination.”themonthof
Read Across America is the nation’s largest celebration of reading
AEA celebrated Read Across America this year by giving the gift of reading to students across the state.
– Carol Fleming
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Regina Dettra,
The support that you guys have gotten teachers across Arkansas is absolutely wonderful. It’s wonderful to have a voice, it’s wonderful to be heard, and it’s also wonderful to be understood.
THEFOLLOWSIGNS
AEA Librarian at School for the Deaf Leads Students to Love Reading
– on
Dettra spent summers with her cousin of the same age who is deaf, and with three generations of teachers in the family her career path was signaled from the beginning.
“Our students, their primary language is American sign language. And so English being their second language, they are learning,” she said. “A lot of our library program is centered with me signing the stories to them, to get them engaged, to get them excited about reading, because if you stop and think about it, English is complicated.”
After spending 21 years in the middle school classroom, she now gets to support the entire school, from pre-K to 12th grade, as the new librarian.
“When they string words together and get that concept on their own, it’s magic,” she said. “It’s beautiful. I love my job, I love that I’m surrounded by books, and I love it when a kid comes up to me and wants to talk about books.”
In addition to learning English, translating complicated concepts into ASL is an art of its own.
“It may be one or two signs, or it may be an entire mining concept that has to be done,” she said. “Stories when they are signed are brought to life. You become the actual person that’s in the story. You become the characters from the grass to the Shesun.”compares it to the way a teacher’s voice has inflections in the rhythm and the change of sound when reading to their hearing students.
“He taught me the language and I, I just kind of fell into it,” she said. “My mother always said that I was born a natural teacher because I would line up my Teddy bears and read to them. And so I became the middle school English teacher here at the school for the deaf.”
“The library, I have always felt like it’s the hub of the school,” Dettra said “It’s where they learn, they explore, they ask questions. It’s more than just reading, and I want that experience for every kid
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“They can’t hear the morning news, or the gossip in the hallway,” Dettra said. “For them to have background knowledge, they must take advantage of books to start asking questions.”
Whilehere.”the
“Children who are deaf and hard of hearing are natural storytellers,” she said. “It’s natural with their language, the descriptions that they go into and the details that go into when they tell a story is absolutely amazing and phenomenal.”
As someone who teaches those who struggle with having a voice, she understands the importance of being heard and believes AEA does just that for educators.
practice of reading is vital in public schools, Dettra believes it is even more important for students who are deaf and hard of hearing.
In addition to tackling a second language, Dettra’s students don’t have the same background knowledge as children with full hearing.
“The support that you guys have gotten teachers across Arkansas is absolutely wonderful,” she said. “It’s wonderful to have a voice, it’s wonderful to be heard, and it’s also wonderful to be understood.”
When teachers and students see Regina Dettra walk across campus on Wednesdays, it’s a sure sign that it’s library day at the Arkansas School of the Deaf.
Helping students overcome these challenges comes with its own reward. Dettra says watching a child as ‘it clicks’ is one of the most beautiful things she’s experienced,
11 ARKANSAS EDUCATOR aeaonline.org PUBLIC SCHOOL ADVOCATES CALL ON LAWMAKERS TO
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Grassroots parents, educators and public-school advocates attended the July 21st meeting of the Arkansas Legislative Council and called on lawmakers to prioritize educator pay increases during the upcoming Special Session.
AEA has been actively working to secure increased pay for our public-school educators. We have been sharing the stories of our members with legislators, policy makers, and the community.
“Which means this is a promise that may or may never come true. It was essentially used to shut you up. I just say to you today, don’t shut up. Don’t be quiet. Keep fighting for what you know to be right.”
Senator Linda Chesterfield addressed the crowd after the meeting, saying some school districts won’t be able to afford $5,000 and $2,500 bonuses.
“The way we spend our money reflects our values,” she said. “What could be more important than making sure that our students have the state’s top talent running our classrooms? Our students deserve to have highly qualified and highly paid educators in our classrooms.”
Fleming said the bonuses were a distraction from the effort to increase teacher pay across the board. While long term funding for increased pay could be addressed during the adequacy process, she said it’s unconscionable to prioritize tax cuts while the state has the lowest-paid teachers in the region and is second-to-last in the nation.
One of the organizers of the event, teacher and AEA member Kimberly Crutchfield told attendees at the rally that she started in the classroom 23 years ago and her first paycheck was $600. She became an educator to share the love she received from her teachers during her formative years.
In early June, the Governor announced support for a $10,000 increase in the minimum teacher salary, as well as $4,000 raises for teachers across the board to recruit and retain educators. He wanted lawmakers to consider the proposal during a special session called to accelerate tax cuts mainly benefiting Arkansas’s wealthy few. However, he quickly withdrew the plan, saying it didn’t have the support of lawmakers.
“We knew we weren’t going to be millionaires, but we didn’t think we would have to go on public assistance either.”
- Kimberly Crutchfield
- Senator Linda Chesterfield
Instead, lawmakers rescinded the release of $500 million in covid relief funds to local schools and called on districts to use the funds for bonuses for teachers and support staff. If districts want to use the funds elsewhere, they will need to present plans to lawmakers for approval.
AEA helped to support the grassroots led event, where attendees wore #RedforED and welcomed lawmakers as they arrived for the meeting. They then gathered on the Capitol steps to explain the urgent need to increase pay, so Arkansas’s students have qualified educators in their schools. AEA President Carol Fleming called on the Governor to include educator pay raises on the call for the special session, and for lawmakers to prioritize Arkansas’s students when considering how to invest the state’s record surplus.
13 ARKANSAS EDUCATOR aeaonline.org PHOTO RECAP: 2022 NEARA
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- Carol Williams-Rankin
“Everywhere we ever went, my dad always drove,” she said. “We never took a Greyhound. We never went on planes or anything like that. He always drove.”
So when her brother, who was a bus driver for the Pine Bluff School District, let her know about an open seat she hopped behind the wheel.
Carol Williams-Rankin’s momma always said she drives like her daddy.
PINE BLUFF ESP SECURES FAIR PAY FOR DRIVINGCOLLEAGUESFAIRNESS
“Those kids just stole my heart. They melted my heart.”
“The supervisor took me out on the bus for the first time and he said, ‘Has your brother been letting you drive his school bus?’” she said, laughing. “I was like, ‘No, sir!’”
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She was a natural, but after about six years she was beginning to think about a career change. That was until she took over a route for students with special needs.
PROFILEESP WILLIAMS-RANKINCAROL aeaonline.org SUMMER 2022 16
“Mr. Andrews has been a tremendous help to us,” Rankin said. “Without him, nothing would have been resolved. We wouldn’t have found out about the steps. We wouldn’t have been paid for our overtime. It felt good when we found out that our hard work did pay off.”
“I tell them good morning, even those that are nonverbal, I tell them good morning,” she said. “It is a big responsibility. When those kids get on the bus, what they want is for somebody to just love
passionate about taking care of the kids, they do bring extra challenges - and sometime equipment - that needs to be loaded and unloaded. That means the route often takes longer than usual. When the Dollarway and Pine Bluff School Districts recently merged, the drivers of students with special needs noticed their hours were cut from 6 down to 5.
When Rankin let supervisors know she was working overtime, she met resistance. She called AEA, and got her UniServ Director Loranzo Andrews involved. While the district eventually agreed
ow with nearly three decades under her belt, Rankin is still full of love for her passengers. As the first school employee to greet the kids each day and the last to say goodbye, she says the key is to ensure each student knows how much she cares.
to pay Rankin and the other drivers for the actual time it took for each route, Andrews discovered an even bigger issue. Several drivers, including Rankin, had been with the district for more than 25 years, but had stalled on step seven of the salary schedule.
Andrews was able to show that the employees were due a more than $4,000 raise and should be sitting at the top of the schedule. After discussing the matter with the district office and the transportation department heads, the district moved the drivers up to the correct salary for the upcoming school year. Rankin says having someone in her corner made it easier to continue to push for what she knew was right, and she encourages everyone to join AEA.
“My route actually is more than 5 hours,” she said. “Some days I may get in 30 minutes later or 20 minutes over some time, maybe an hour over.”
Rankin says having someone in her corner made it easier to continue to push for what she knew was right, and she encourages everyone to join AEA.
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Whilethem.”she’s
“These drivers had been stuck on the wrong step for more than a decade,” Andrews said. “This came to light thanks to Ms. Rankin refusing to take no for an answer, and I truly appreciate her drive to ensure she and her colleagues were treated fairly.”
aeaonline.org SUMMER 2022 18 WANT WITHCONNECTTOAEA? THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT.
“I can only speak for the school which I teach at now or the school district I teach in,” Vaughn said.
“We work together to ensure educators like you have a stronger voice,” Fleming said while introducing the panelists. “That is why we are here this evening to hear your voice. We know educators
AEA President Carol Fleming and Dr. Kimberly Pride, assistant commissioner of Learning Services with the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education invited educators to share their thoughts, experiences and challenges associated with working in schools during a pandemic.
For teacher appreciation week this year AEA held an educator roundtable listening event with a representative from the Arkansas Department of Education.
The following hour-long conversation touched on a wide range of topics, from confusion caused by constantly changing rules during the pandemic, to increasing violence in school buildings. Panelists Roy Vaughn and LaToya Morgan from the LREA and Patrick Bruce from North Little Rock Education Association said our community needs to step up and address societal issues before they spill into dangerous situations at schools.
“We saw the numbers in our community for violence going up long before we started seeing that violence come into our school buildings.
WEEKAPPRECIATIONTEACHER
are the experts on what our students need. We want you to be heard and respected.”
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We made no plan. We did nothing to prepare for this situation. Now we’re here and what are we doing? We have to start being proactive instead of Morganreactive.”said she reached out following a violent incident in Pine Bluff, but her efforts to help were rebuffed. She spoke with a student who had a cast on his arm and discovered it was the result of a “Heshooting.didn’teven know what trauma was,” she said. “He’d been shot. His friend was murdered, and no one has pulled him aside and talked to him.”
Watch the full conversation https://youtu.be/einMGDKflw0at:
“We work together to ensure educators like you have a stronger voice. That is why we are here this evening to hear your voice.”
“We’re not having those uncomfortable conversations that need to be had,” she said. “We’re not building the capacity of their families.
“We need time to develop relationships, authentic relationships, intentional relationships and ask people what they need,” she said. “Until we really help families, until we support parents the way that they need to be supported, a lot of what we do is null and void. It may resolve, but we can get more if we attack the root of the problem.”
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- Carol Fleming, AEA President
Morgan said the majority of students being affected are students of color, and underlying issues are going unresolved.
Johnson believes her role as a UniServ Director is to teach educators how to advocate for themselves and others for the improvement of Public Education. “My goal is to engage members in opportunities to connect, grow professionally, and lead in their fields by accessing a network of support, resources, and relationships. Being a part of a collective voice for the betterment of our schools is not just encouraging. It is energizing. It is empowerment!”
LORANZO ANDREWS
RENEE JOHNSON
ZONE 1
ZONE 2
FELICIA DIXON ZONE 3
Dixon is a former educator and U. S. Navy veteran so she has a strong sense of justice. Born and raised in Birmingham, AL, a passion for social equality was cultivated at an early age. She believes in fighting for the rights of others, particularly educators who are often undervalued and underappreciated. The ability to empower others and make every person feel heard are the reasons why she LOVES this work! “I feel that all work has dignity and value. So, it peeves me when individuals are marginalized based on their position or salary. I know that everyone plays a critical role in helping students reach their full potential, whether it’s the bus driver, custodian, teacher, or principal, and all should be respected.” When she’s not working, Felicia enjoys spending time with her family, especially her 18-month-old grandson, cooking, crafting, and traveling.
Andrews says his duty is to be responsible for recruitment, retention, and advocacy services for approximately 25 school districts in Arkansas. His work as a UniServ Director in Arkansas has provided him with many opportunities for personal and professional growth. “I have a deep commitment for community organizing and how it can change working conditions and lives and develop leaders in the State of Arkansas. Having now gained first-hand experience working with AEA members, I am well-equipped to address issues facing Arkansas educators and advocate on their behalf.”
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KNOW YOUR UD
CORA ALLEN ZONE 5
KELLY GIVENS
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Givens is AEAs ESP/Student Organizer, and says she is here to help locals and chapters feel valued and recognized. “I have served on the AEA Board as the Aspiring Educator President, and I have gained experience through my participation as a member. I am here to serve you as you dedicate your time and efforts in serving your locals and chapters.”
Newsom considers his responsibility as a UniServ Director to always be engaging, encouraging, and empowering. Engaging the educators to ensure that there are possibilities for long lasting relationships. Encouraging the educators through trying times and stretching them to reach new goals. “I believe in empowering educators through advocacy, professional development, and mentoring to become part of the voice of education in the state of Arkansas and beyond.”
“My desire is to help our members recognize the importance of exercising their rights through advocacy. We must work and stand together as a collective body to bring about the positive change to public education that we want to see for future generations.”
ZONE 4
KURBE NEWSOM
LARITA BAILEY MITCHELL ZONE 6
Allen recently joined the staff of the Arkansas Education Association as a UniServ Director. She understands the importance of connecting and building relationships with the classified and certified members of the association.
Mitchell is a former 4th Grade Math and Science teacher from Memphis, TN. It was always her childhood dream to be a teacher as they were the people she admired most while growing up. She believes that knowledge is power and to have the opportunity to share that power with others to raise them up was, and still is her dream. “I’ve been an education advocate all my life. My reason for continuing this journey is “Knowledge is Power”, and I believe it gives those who have it, a voice! A voice to speak out on injustices and a voice to change things.” She believes the opportunity to share knowledge lifts us all up.
ATRS
Primaries are coming up and it is vital to have allies in office who will support public education. Please register and vote in your primary. If you have any questions do not hesitate to call Emily Rockwell 501-707-4207
FISCALSUMMARYLEGISLATIVE
AEA continues to advocate for more funding. This year it is set to increase by $69.6 million, or 3%, to $2.32 billion in fiscal 2023, the general revenue allocation would also increase by $28.5 million for the educational facilities partnership program to $70.3 million. These increases align with the recommendations from the House and Senate education committees.
• May: The committees will review educational programs and waivers.
VICTORIES
Increased Funding
• The final report on the study is due November 1.
• June: The committees will review student achievement and achievement gaps.
Adequacy
AEA opposed the effort by Senator Dan Sullivan, R-Jonesboro to defund PBS/AETN. He attempted to cut funding for Arkansas PBS’ operations by about 25% in fiscal year 2023. After Sullivan’s failed attempts, the full funding proceeded.
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The Adequacy Study statute requires the House and Senate Education Committees to evaluate the entire spectrum of public education to determine whether students receive equal opportunity for an adequate education. This involves research and presentations by the Bureau of Legislative Research on every aspect of funding and spending by the State on behalf of public schools. Arkansas has used a formula (the matrix) to arrive at the per-student funding amount in the past.
Educator Health Insurance
• February: the committees reviewed state-level and district-level funding and spending.
• April: committee members reviewed teacher recruitment, retention, and salaries and well as professional development and facilities.
AEA battled efforts to increase funding for the SUCCEED scholarship, a state funded voucher program that funnels public school funds directly to private schools. The bill was defeated in committee, however Commissioner Key ended up doubling the funding with Federal funds earmarked for learning loss.
ONGOING
Privatization Efforts
Honesty In Education
Facing the $75 million shortfall, AEA continued to fight for stabilized funding for health insurance and followed through on our challenge. A package of bills was passed to not only stabilize - but expand coverage for our educators. This involved working with legislators on both sides of the isle to garner support for the 8 bills. There was only 1 nay vote on the entire package from Senator Trent Garner, who is not seeking reelection.
During the fiscal session, Senator Irvin held an Education Committee hearing with fellow from the University of Arkansas College of School Reform. They discussed doing away with our retirement system and moving toward 401K. This privatization would greatly hurt the livelihoods of our educators and further push people from the profession.
WATCH OUT FOR: ELECTIONS
e. Arkansas has not kept pace with real costs. This has created a drag on the funding, and a failure to meet the needs of Arkansas students. The bigger picture is that the Matrix does not address how to raise adequate funding on a resource-needs basis.
f. Charter schools are being afforded additional funding for new, renovated, or updated facilities while our public schools are falling apart.
d. Parents are asked to surrender their child’s rights to have their needs met to even apply for the scholarship, yet the tuition being paid comes from public and federal funds.
e. Given the renewed challenges facing students, addressing health and education issues involves developing and implementing a whole child approach to education that includes services provided by Community Schools
II. PRE-K AND ESP FUNDING
d. Education support staff such as school bus drivers, cafeteria workers, janitors, secretaries, and others play an integral role in ensuring a well-run, safe, and supportive learning environment. As such, these education support professionals deserve to have their pay significantly increased.
The AEA has provided testimony to the committees outlined here:
a. Any efforts to divert public funds to private schools through vouchers or scholarship programs goes against the objective to provide a quality public education for every Arkansas child.
b. Arkansas should provide funding to empower our State to lead the country once again in Pre-K education. Every 4-year-old in Arkansan should have access to a high-quality, public Pre-K program.
c. Voucher or scholarship programs have no accountability. While public school employees struggle to provide modifications, services, and reporting for special needs students, the same scrutiny is not given to voucher-funded schools. In its seven years, we have seen no evidence that these vouchers or scholarships are improving student outcomes. This is due to there being no legal or administrative reporting requirement for services.
IV. COMMUNITY SCHOOLS
b. Malnutrition, environmental hazards, limited access to preventive care and mental health professionals all contribute to underlying health conditions in children and families. This has been proven to directly affect academic performance and cognitive development.
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c. The pandemic is claiming lives and livelihoods and decimating the well-being of our region’s most vulnerable children. This has solidified the connection between access to healthcare and positive education outcomes.
I. ADEQUACY OVERALL
e. Private schools are taking the per pupil funding that public schools need and have no duty or promise to accommodate any special or medical needs.
a. Our State falls short of the charge to provide quality education to every child in Arkansas and this needs to be addressed.
b. If the needs of any student are not being met at our public schools, or our schools are not able to provide an opportunity to learn for every child, this only speaks to the need for increasing foundation funding on a resource-needs basis.
III. PRIVATIZATION HURTS OUR STUDENTS
d. School closures during the pandemic have severely limited students’ ability to learn due to a lack of access to broadband and devices.
V. MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES
b. The matrix for funding needs to be equitable across the board. The current model is causing disparity in Arkansas communities that have been asking for support for years, yet nothing has been done.
d. While some schools have supplemental funding, evidence has shown that schools with the most need often are schools in areas where the uniform tax rate is much lower than others. This is not an equitable manner of funding schools.
a. For children of color and children from low-income families, healthcare and education are inextricably linked, and much like education, healthcare is underfunded.
c. The Matrix should provide for support personnel to be added to schools to provide resources based on equity of need, not equality- as schools are not identical in need.
c. There is vast inequity in the way our schools receive and spend funds. The BLR has presented qualitative and quantitative data to illustrate that our education funding model is inadequate on its face.
f. Funding amounts should follow the consumer price index. This allows for districts to avoid shortfalls due to rising costs not covered in the matrix. The funding has not increased with inflation, as this is not in statute and left up to the committee to mitigate rising costs. Categorical programs should grow annually at least by the rate of inflation plus an additional one percentage point. The statewide base per pupil funding for K-12 public education shall grow annually at a rate set by the general assembly that is at least equal to the rate of inflation.
b. Now more than ever, students and families need access to mental health resources as communities continue to grapple with change, loss, and trauma.
a Improving student to teacher ratios, additional instructional supports, early childhood programs, and more competitive teacher compensation (permitting schools and districts to recruit and retain a higher quality teacher workforce). These resources matter to all students, but some more than others in certain contexts. Educational resources benefit students, and there is little to no evidence that one can gain stronger outcomes without these resources.
a. High-quality, safe pre-K programs ensure children develop essential learning and social skills that are vital to cognitive development.
MEMBERSHIP MATTERS!
Liz Picone
25 ARKANSAS EDUCATOR aeaonline.org
It is sometimes difficult to understand why people who are already members of an organization will not ask one of their peers in the profession to make the same commitment they have already made?
Even though we do not officially bargain in Arkansas we do have influence, and a voice, through the District Personnel Policy Committees (PPC). Do you know when those elections are held in your District? Have you considered running for one of those seats?
EDUCATOR
LIZ
One of the most challenging tasks we have as an organization is to organize. It takes commitment, resources, patience, perseverance, and tenacity. Organizing is the life-blood of a strong organization. Without new members there is a slow-trickle of declining membership.
AEA because they believe in the cause it stands for and depend on us to advocate for their beliefs and rights. Whether it is at a town hall meeting or lobbying on Capitol Hill, the collective is stronger than the individual.
Members are also accountable to one another. A commitment to join AEA also means you join a community of like-minded individuals. But membership means someone expects you, and that expectation builds accountability. Another member may feel compelled to check in on you if he or she hasn’t seen in you in a while. And that accountability can reach into other areas of your life as well.
Who can you ask to join us?
Membersservicesjoin
This is YOUR magazine – Let us know what you would like to see. Send story ideas to wbresaw@aeanea.org PICONE
Have you asked someone to join AEA lately?
AEA membership is everyone’s responsibility. AEA Staff, President Fleming, and many of our local leaders, have been very busy attending as many back to school events and opportunities as they can all over the state sharing information about the benefits of joining AEA.
People want to be part of a successful organization. When AEA can continuously attract members, it is a great testimonial to the value of membership. The concept of a growing organization is also important to many of the publics that we are trying to influence. Membership also provides the momentum for the rest of AEA’s programs and
What are you going to do to build power in your local association this year? A major focus for AEA in the coming year is to help our locals grow their organizational strength and increase member engagement so our voices on critical issues are heard. AEA members will continue to lead the way and will continue to ensure that all Arkansas students get the quality education they deserve.
Rally participants made clear the plight of educators and with so many of them speaking out, teacher insurance got greater attention from lawmakers, with several state legislators committing themselves to finding the revenue needed to fund the improved health insurance program.
This year AEA had a massive healthcare success, but this wasn’t the first-time educator healthcare had been threatened.
In the 2008-2009 school year, the employee contribution for a single plan was expected to rise to 46.6% and for a family plan to 70.3%. At a meeting, a teacher leader was asked what her district provided, and her answer was $3.00. The legislature was beginning a study of the issues, but AEA would not and could not wait for districts to take responsibility for the health of their local employees.
REWIND: Looking back at AEA’s past aeaonline.org SUMMER 2022 26
So, on January 24th nearly 400 people weathered cold temperatures and chilling wind, holding signs to get the attention of legislators of the 87th General Assembly. On the steps of the capital, the crowd of education professionals made it known, ‘What do we want? Affordable health care. When do we want it? We want it now!”
An NEA State Affiliate 1500 WEST 4TH STREET LITTLE ROCK, AR 72201-1064 aeaonline.org ONLYMEMBERS Visit the Member’s Only section of AEAonline.org where you can find AEA board and staff contact information, educator resources and other important information about the association! IMPORTANT DATES: Sept. 10 AEA Committee Day OCT. 1 AEA Board of Directors Meeting NOV. 3-4 AEA DevelopmentProfessionalConference NOV. 5 AEA Delegate Assembly NOV. 8 Election Day
