Jacob Oliva
Applications now available for LEARNS Act workgroups
The Arkansas Department of Education issued a Commissioner’s Memo on Tuesday inviting Arkansans to participate in the implementation of the LEARNS Act. Through volunteer workgroups, participants will contribute to the development of rules and policies for the expansive education bill that Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed into law last week. The LEARNS Act takes unprecedented […]
Education secretary discusses LEARNS Act implications with Northwest Arkansas superintendents
Greenland School District superintendent Andrea Martin said she’s “been hungry for information” as the LEARNS Act made its way through the Legislature. Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed the expansive education bill into law Wednesday. On Friday, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva traveled to the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative in Farmington where he met with Martin […]
New legislation prompts requests to delay Marvell-Elaine School District consolidation
Fileshia Powell said she’s been “fighting and praying” to keep the Marvell-Elaine School District open so her daughter, an honor roll student, can graduate from there next May. The rural Phillips County district is scheduled to be consolidated with another district this summer due to low enrollment, and Powell said the process has been tough […]
Arkansas governor signs wide-ranging education bill into law
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Wednesday signed expansive changes to Arkansas’ education system into law. The LEARNS Act takes unprecedented steps in hopes of restructuring the state’s K-12 schools, addressing teacher pay, school safety, career readiness, literacy, a new voucher program and “indoctrination,” among other topics. The legislation was Sanders’ main priority since taking office […]
Arkansas governor’s education package advances to Senate
The Senate Education Committee after more than five hours of testimony Wednesday approved Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders’ sweeping education plan over bipartisan calls for amendments. Dozens of teachers, students, parents and administrator groups testified at the occasionally tense hearing. Senate Bill 294, also called the LEARNS Act, is the culmination of Sanders’ chief priority to […]
Teachers, students voice support for AP African American Studies course
If C.C. Smith had had access to an African American history class as a kid, the self-described history nut said he “would’ve ate it up.” Smith said he learned much from his father, “an expert on the Delta” and professor emeritus at Arkansas State University where he was the school’s first African American faculty member. […]
Oliva selected as new K-12 education commissioner
The State Board of Education unanimously elected Arkansas’ new education secretary as the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner on Thursday. The board unanimously selected Jacob Oliva following an executive session at its regularly scheduled meeting. “I am honored to receive the board’s approval today, and I look forward to […]