AMP: Improving Arkansas Education- A Complex Puzzle, Not a Zero-Sum Game
Education and economic growth go hand in hand. The two factors are inextricably linked, and investments in pre-K-12 education — and the sector as a whole — directly impact the state’s long-term productivity and prosperity. That’s why we must coalesce around ensuring every Arkansas student graduates prepared for college, career and community engagement.
For decades, solving the challenges within Arkansas’s education system has often been seen as a zero-sum game. We laser in on singular, high-need opportunities, but in doing so, we reduce focus on other essential, interconnected areas. We must instead take an approach akin to tackling a 1,000-piece puzzle. Meeting our collective objective requires a comprehensive strategy. It demands recalibration, continually identifying gaps and adding in missing pieces. Only then will the picture — improved student outcomes — come together.
For Forward Arkansas, the symbolic corner pieces of the puzzle are highly effective teachers and school leaders. Research shows that teachers are the single biggest school-related determinant of student achievement. The RAND Corp. estimates educators have two to three times the effect of any other school factor. Unfortunately, Arkansas currently faces complex educator workforce issues. Our state needs more teachers and leaders equipped to enter and stay in our schools and classrooms.
Our 2023 State of Education report highlighted how recruiting more candidates into teaching and supporting them throughout their careers can help foster their continued professional growth and, ultimately, their long-term retention. As an agile external partner, Forward is committed to catalyzing innovation in the highest-priority areas with our partners on the ground to drive system-wide progress across the entire educator career continuum.
Consider our comprehensive, integrated efforts around teacher recruitment, preparation and retention. With the implementation of Teach Arkansas in collaboration with the Department of Education, Forward has increased awareness of potential pathways into teaching — and the available financial incentives to do so — to recruit more residents into that career path, especially in areas of the state facing severe shortages. We’ve also built educator capacity by directly supporting the transformation of university-based educator preparation programs, the largest source of new teachers. Through the EPP Design Collaborative, we offered resources and expert guidance to help participating universities develop plans to enhance the teacher-candidate experience, such as with paid teacher residencies, to more effectively prepare them to enter the classroom and remain in the field.
Forward understands that encouraging more, better-prepared educators to enter Arkansas schools is essential. However, we also recognize that we need more than corner pieces to complete the education puzzle. Once in schools, teachers and leaders must feel valued, have ample opportunities to grow, and feel empowered to lead and innovate. With the LeARner Collective, Forward provides the dedicated space, innovative strategies and tailored support great educators need to transform learning for students. During Phase 1, select school teams in the Arkansas Delta and northwest Arkansas received five months of personalized coaching to develop pilot solutions to improve their structures, practices and culture around critical areas, such as literacy and durable skills. Participants will expand and transform these innovative ideas into tangible actions in Phase 2, broadening their scope and impact.
The initiatives may vary — Teach Arkansas, the EPP Design Collaborative, the LeARner Collective and others — but each is a connected part of Forward’s multi-faceted approach to addressing our state’s educational challenges. A 1,000-piece puzzle requires determination and strategic thinking to solve. We must fill all the gaps and ensure everything fits together. Some sections come together quickly, while others take additional time, thought and unique perspectives, but with consistent, concerted efforts, more pieces settle into place, gaps become smaller and the bigger picture comes into view — an educational system where every Arkansas student is prepared for success.
This column was featured in the July 2024 issue of Arkansas Money & Politics.
