Solution Tree, the Indiana-based company hired by Arkansas for years to assist with teacher professional development, has withdrawn its bid for a proposed contract re-up that would have cost the state almost $100 million over the next seven years.
The move comes after Solution Tree officials faced questions last week from legislators asking whether their trademarked “PLC at Work” program in Arkansas schools was delivering results. (A PLC, or professional learning community, is a general term for a collaboration-based approach to teachers’ professional development.) A recent study by education researchers at the University of Arkansas concluded that the PLC at Work program had delivered “no statistically significant effect” on student academic performance, despite the state putting tens of millions of dollars towards the program since initially signing a no-bid contract with Solution Tree in 2017.
The new contract was supposed to go before a legislative committee for review on Friday, but Education Secretary Jacob Oliva asked it to be withdrawn from consideration at the last minute. An education department spokesperson said Friday the department would be more closely examining the contract before moving forward for review.
Now, though, it appears Solution Tree has thrown in the towel. CEO Jeffrey Jones said Monday that the company has asked Oliva to withdraw the contract from the review process, despite the huge amount of money at stake.
“With considerable review of all narratives surrounding the PLC at Work Project in Arkansas, it became apparent that priorities have changed since we were awarded the contract through the thorough procurement process,” Jones said in an email sent out to media. “This has led to our request of Secretary Oliva to withdraw our contract from the review process, as we feel it is critical for our priorities to align. We also know it is imperative to have the support and full cooperation of all stakeholders to implement quality and effective professional development.”
That doesn’t mean Solution Tree is done in Arkansas. Aside from contracting with the state directly, it also does business with school districts, education cooperatives and higher education institutions. At a legislative audit committee meeting in February, one Republican legislator critical of Solution Tree said the actual financial benefit to the company in Arkansas was estimated to be over $140 million since it began working in the state.
In his statement, Jones said Solution Tree would “continue to work with and support the hard working educators throughout the State of Arkansas as we have done for over a decade. … We remain proud of our work with these educators and are committed to continuing to deliver outstanding results.”
A legislative audit into Solution Tree was requested by lawmakers in February and is still pending.
For more on Solution Tree and how the company came to do business in Arkansas, read Baker Kurrus‘ recent Arkansas Times column excoriating the PLC at Work concept as the equivalent of paying tens of millions of dollars for “Magical Thinking Caps.” And for great blow-by-blow coverage of the University of Arkansas study and the rapid collapse of support for Solution Tree in the Legislature, check out Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter Josh Snyder’s recent reporting.