This year marks the 30th roster of Arkansas Times Academic All-Stars: 20 exceptional students chosen from a pool of applicants from across the state, each nominated by their high school counselor or principal.
Jeannie Roberts
Jeannie Roberts is a contributing reporter for the Arkansas Times.
Posted inArkansas Blog
For more and more Arkansas schools, 4 days are better than 5
In the 2019-20 year, only four schools in Arkansas were operating on a four-day schedule. By the 2023-24 school year, there were 89 — a more than twentyfold increase.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Student First Technologies to replace ClassWallet as Arkansas LEARNS voucher vendor
Student First Technologies, based in Bloomington, Indiana, won the contract to handle the finance side of school vouchers in the second year of Arkansas LEARNS.
Posted inArkansas Blog
LEARNS lawsuit over ‘indoctrination’ reassigned to Judge Rudofsky
A judge in a federal lawsuit challenging a section of the Arkansas LEARNS Act that prohibits “indoctrination” in the classroom has recused herself from the case and asked for it to be reassigned.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Plan to create state-run insurance company for school buildings in works for fiscal session
State lawmakers will wait until the upcoming fiscal session to decide whether or not to follow a consulting firm’s recommendation that Arkansas start its own insurance company for school properties, legislators said Wednesday.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Second-year LEARNS voucher applicants to be notified of approvals in June
The rules surrounding some provisions in the Arkansas LEARNS Act remain up in the air, stalling the approval process, an ADE representative said.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Central High plaintiffs sue Sanders, Oliva over targeting of AP African American Studies
“The LEARNS Act’s Section 16 is nothing more than a brazen, political attempt to silence speech and expression with which Gov. Sanders and Secretary Oliva simply disagree,” attorney Mike Laux said.
Posted inArkansas Blog
State panel eyes new charter school application as required by LEARNS
A new application for would-be charter schools in Arkansas should “streamline” the work of the state panel responsible for overseeing charters, according to a Department of Education official.
Posted inArkansas Blog
As deadline for Arkansas school vouchers approaches, a proponent and a detractor reflect on the first year
As the second year of the Arkansas LEARNS voucher program kicks off, opponents and supporters have the same sentiment: It will be more of the same.
Posted inArkansas Blog
Joe T. Robinson High School leadership placed on leave after gun incident
The principal and assistant principal at Joe T. Robinson High School were placed on administrative leave Tuesday, according to a PCSSD spokesperson.