THE FRONT

A NEW CITY LEADER FOCUSED ON EDUCATION

JENNIFER GLASGOW IS LITTLE ROCK’S NEW CHIEF EDUCATION OFFICER.

Jennifer Glasgow was named chief education officer of the city of Little Rock in April. She succeeds Jay Barth, who left to take a job leading the Clinton Presidential Library and Museum. Barth inaugurated the position in 2019, and since then much of its focus has been on community schools, a joint effort between the city and the Little Rock School District. Community schools provide “wraparound services” like dental and health care, tutoring and family support for students, their families and the surrounding neighborhoods. The first four community schools — Chicot, Stephens, Washington and Watson elementary schools — started offering these extra services in September 2020. Thanks to a two-year state grant, Mabelvale elementary and middle schools will become community schools this fall. We spoke with Glasgow about her background and vision for directing education policy for Little Rock.

What’s your experience in education?

Most recently I was with an organization called Excel by Eight, formerly the Arkansas Campaign for Grade Level Reading. The goal of that organization was to get kids reading on grade level by the end of third grade, because that’s when instruction transitions. If you’re struggling in reading by fourth grade, you’re going to be struggling across the board. So we looked at things that worked outside of the classroom, making sure kids were kindergarten ready, making sure that parents were engaged and [encouraging] attendance. We also shifted a lot of our focus on birth to 3 because we found that there was little awareness about how important that was. The most significant development of a child’s brain happens before you turn 3, and a lot of that is language and literacy before they’re even talking. I think an outcome of the pandemic that we realized was how we rely on our education system as childcare, for good or bad. So I’m trying to research and find out what would be a way to support that. You hear anecdotally about moms leaving the workforce because there wasn’t an appropriate childcare option, but it’s not just important so mom can go to work. It’s important that those children are on track to be kindergarten ready, to be reading by third grade, to graduate from high school.

What is the city’s commitment to community schools?

The city has committed $500,000 [per year] toward community schools. But we also applied and received a Byrne Grant through the Department of Justice, with the goal of reducing violence with communityled initiatives instead of police-led. That is focused on Stephens Elementary, which is connected to the Stephens Community Center, which makes it kind of a unique space. The grant will provide two social workers who will get to work with the students, but also with community members. Then in the fall we’ll be collecting community input to find out what they are interested in. As far as the future, I think it comes down to what schools would want to become community schools. Leadership at all levels has to want that, all the way down to the principal, they have to feel like that’s a good fit for their students.

How do you address skepticism about city involvement? Some wonder why the city needs to be involved with education at all.

In anything, especially something using tax dollars, you’ve got to show your value. That’s something I’m working with the district on. We know what we should be measuring, so how do we start collecting that data? It’s not just attendance and test scores; there are other ways to measure success. I think some of that is engagement, and just taking it a little step beyond families served. So you know, if 10 kids went to the vision clinic, and eight of them got glasses, right, we can measure that and talk about it. Some of these grants that the city has received, the fact that it’s a city/district partnership is what makes us so competitive. I think it makes our applications compelling to show that we’ve got this united front.

FAVORITE BOOK?

Emily Brontë’s “Wuthering Heights.”

READING ANYTHING GOOD RIGHT NOW?

“Parent Nation” by Dana Suskind. It’s about how to support families of children from birth to 5, how to make it easier to be a parent. There are a lot of challenges for all parents, some more than others, and this is about how to get the support they need, whether through policy change or other.

FAVORITE PLACE TO TRAVEL IN ARKANSAS?

Greers Ferry Lake.

To the extent that Little Rock residents know what the city’s chief education officer does, they probably mostly think of the community school partnership with the LRSD. But there’s more to the job, right?

Community schools are a big part of it, certainly, because there’s just a lot going on to talk about. Because of my background, I am actively looking for ways that the city can support families from birth to age 5. — Mary Ruth Taylor

BRIAN CHILSON

GOOD NOISE FOR A BETTER YEAR

A 2022 ARKANSAS MUSIC ROUNDUP.

BY BRAD CAVINESS

Though day-to-day numbers can range from off-putting to mildly terrifying, life is steadily returning to a semblance of normal for musicians and audiences. Tours are taking place with only the odd city or date postponed due to illness. Venues are open and full of fans eager to see and hear new music again. For all the bands that have seemingly dissolved over the course of the pandemic, as many took the opportunity to develop, record and release new material. In fact, there’s barely a week that goes by where there isn’t at least a handful of new singles, EPs or albums freshly sprouted on your favorite streaming service and eager to make your ears all happy for giving them a listen. Below, you’ll find 10 of them we definitely think you should check out.

Zemi, “Zapocrypha (Apocrypha Deluxe Edition)”

Last October, we received the sad, startling news that Elijah “Zemi” Ash was killed in an accident in which he was struck by a car. He was just days away from releasing “Zapocrypha,” the expanded deluxe edition of his recent album “Apocrypha.” The recording is a pop-lover’s dream. Dancefloor beats propel the melodious hooks, above which Zemi’s falsetto tenor enchants like a siren. Lyrically, the songs can be playful, flirtatious and occasionally deeper and even seemingly prescient of his mortality. “Follow Me to Hell” is an absolute showstopper of a ballad, like one of the songs that Prince used to farm out to the artists he would mentor. It is heartbreaking that such a talent should pass on the cusp of releasing such a stellar work, and one has to wonder what songs he may have gifted the world in the future.

Kvng Moses

One of the best bits about being hyperfocused on local musicians is they aren’t stars or celebrities. They’re just people, lots of whom you’ve probably known for years, and there’s always a chance you’ll just randomly run into them out in public. But the first time you see one of your favorite rappers exiting the gas station, that “Oh shit!” moment can feel a lot like being starstruck. Kvng Moses is one of those artists that ought to have lots of people having that starstruck moment when he enters the room. He’s spent the last three years building a catalog of songs, a couple of albums and a torrent of singles that feature impeccable production, deep wordplay and a machine-gun vocal delivery that’ll make you play each verse three times to catch every syllable. The most common theme in his music is that a lot of people underestimate Moses — and that it is a mistake to underestimate Moses. But his verbal dexterity and catchy, polished hooks make him one of the most interesting, if mostly unheard, new artists.

Joshua Asante, “I Don’t Act Like I Used To”

If you’ve heard Joshua Asante perform at some point over the years, either solo or with the bands Velvet Kente and/or Amasa Hines, then it’s likely you have a favorite song or dozen you’ve heard on stage that has never been officially released. It’s possible you may be able to hear one or more of those songs now as Asante has released “I Don’t Act Like I Used To: a retrospective of rarities,” a collection of demos and song drafts spanning the last decade, each recorded live in one take using the recorder app on his phone. The sound quality befits the recording method, which also strangely suits the “in the momentness” of these sonic experiments captured in digital amber.

Shawn James, “A Place in the Unknown”

Even in quiet moments, Shawn James’ barrel-chested baritone has a power that’s undeniable. The one-time Fayetteville resident came to prominence several years ago when one of his songs was used in the video game “The Last of Us.” His latest release, “A Place in the Unknown,” is 12 songs of gospel-haunted, soul-tinged, doomy-folk/metal/blues. James’ success on this album is getting all that to work together in a way that’s powerfully emotional, transporting and even cathartic to experience, if you let yourself be swept away by it.

Chainsaw Lassy, “Money in Motion” EP

Every once in a while you come across a new artist and you know from the first notes: “Oh yes, this is my jam!” From the opening guitar hook to the final chord and cymbal fade, Chainsaw Lassy serves up an unrelenting energetic punk rock debut with enough melody to sing along and enough snarl to feel a little bit dangerous. This five-song demo is a home recording by wife-and-husband duo Kori and Blake Foster, who promise that a full-length, fully produced LP with a full band will land later this year.

Sad Daddy, “Way Up in the Hills”

Eureka Springs-based bluegrass/folk quartet Sad Daddy gets even more rustic for their third album, “Way Up in the Hills.” The band isolated together at guitarist/ singer/songwriter Brian Martin’s cabin near Greers Ferry to record the album outside the traditional studio setting. About half of the songs have been part of Sad Daddy’s live shows for a while, and the rest showed up during the recording sessions. All four members of the group — Martin, Melissa Carper, Rebecca Patek and Joe Sundell — contribute lead vocals and songs in a variety of folk and traditional music styles. To say this is Sad Daddy’s most “down home” record is nearly an understatement. There’s a closeness, a familial intimacy to this recording that will mark it as a favorite for many fans of the band.

Yebba, “Dawn”

Raised on gospel and weaned on R&B, West Memphis native Yebba (real name Abbey Smith) has seen her star rise in the last year or so. Prominent features on tracks by Mark Ronson and Drake have led to her debut LP, “Dawn,” produced by Ronson and aimed squarely at the earholes of fans of big-voiced diva singers. Yebba’s voice is not quite (yet) as impressive an instrument as, say, Adele’s. But Ronson smartly builds the tracks for each song, from atmospheric ballads, earthy pop songs and glorious torch songs in a way that gives Yebba plenty of moments to shine and highlights why Yebba deserves to be heard in her own right.

Tiny Towns, “On Tape” EP

Chances are you’ll listen to this on digital streaming, or maybe on a CD, but Tiny Towns are out to earn their analog bona fides on their new EP, “On Tape,” recorded the old-fashioned way at Little Rock’s Fellowship Hall Sound. The EP strikes a more reflective, mid-tempo vibe, saving the rock ‘n’ roll high energy for the final couple of songs. What’s evident on all five songs, however, is the band’s extraordinarily strong musicianship and clever turns of phrase, both musical and lyrical. If I had a complaint about this, it’s only that it’s not a full album.

Go For Gold, “Cope”

Pop-punkers Go For Gold have made a name for themselves over the last few years for high-energy live shows and polished, radioready recordings. GFG’s last recording, the long EP or short album “Color Me,” came out in 2020 just as the pandemic was starting to look like it might not be over by that Fourth of July. Their new LP, “Cope” is out now just as the pandemic is starting to look like it might actually be behind us by this year’s Fourth of July. Fans of the band will definitely find a lot to enjoy on this new LP. All the band’s strengths are at play here: strong, catchy songwriting, earnest vocals and upbeat songs balanced by the occasional heartfelt ballad.

Whoa Dakota, “Rhinestones & Rodeos”

Several years ago, Jessie Ott moved to Nashville, Tennessee, and made a number of dreamy pop records under the nom de l’art Whoa Dakota. Now she’s back in Arkansas and has released a new EP of original country songs as a parting note to Music City. Ott’s voice is honey-sweet and perfectly suited to these modern takes on classic country sounds. Her focus is razor sharp on these songs with lots to say about the struggle artists go through to make ends meet while making music. Far from being about giving up, these songs are about the passion to create and the drive to keep going, even as success is elusive. Definitely not to be missed.