Arkansas

One of the many highlights of the Arkansas Opportunity to Learn Summit was reading essays by the winners of the summit's student essay contest, who wrote in answer to the prompt "Why an Opportunity to Learn is important to me."

Did you know that Arkansas had the fourth fastest rate of immigrant population growth from 2000 to 2010? Learn about that and more on Tuesday, Jan. 8th, 2013, when the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation will release an updated version of their 2007 report, A Profile of Immigrants in Arkansas (pictured right). Better yet, why not attend the press conference for the report's release that same day?

Need some help developing or advocating for policies in your state to tackle school pushout and end the school-to-prison pipeline? Then look no further than this newly released state policy guide from the Opportunity to Learn Campaign! The guide provides advocates and policymakers with recommendations for ending the ineffective and discriminatory practice of out-of-school suspensions as well as a summary of the significant action and legislative proposals that are already underway in states to address our national pushout crisis.

The following is a press release from OTL allies and education advocates in Arkansas in reponse to the recent ruling from the state Supreme Court that significantly undermines the state's equitable funding system and puts the fate of fair funding for public schools in Arkansas at risk.

Equitable funding in the state of Arkansas took a beating in a ruling from the state Supreme Court issued Thursday, one that puts the future of fair funding at risk and undermines decades of work by advocates and OTL allies in the state.

Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has declared October to be Arkansas Advocacy & Organizing Month, and the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has joined with grassroots organizing groups and advocacy organizations (many of whom we're proud to partner with in the Arkansas Opportunity to Learn Campaign) to celebrate the positive impact advocacy has on communities and the change it can inspire.

Join the Opportunity to Learn Campaign (along with members of the Dignity in Schools Campaign, our partner in the Solutions Not Suspensions initiative) for a 60-minute webinar on October 3rd to learn how you can go from outrage over harsh school discipline polices to movement building! This webinar will examine how student organizers in Philadelphia were able to collect necessary data, build their coalition, and win a decisive victory bringing about alternatives to out-of-school suspensions.

The Urgency of Now: The Schott 50 State Report on Public Education and Black Males finds that almost half of Black and Latino males do not graduate high school in four years.  Without a policy framework that creates opportunity for all students, strengthens supports for the teaching profession and strikes the right balance between support-based reforms and standards-driven reforms, the U.S. will become increasingly unequal and less competitive in the global economy. Where does your state rank? Visit www.blackboysreport.org to learn more!

Great news for children in Arkansas! A new campaign is fighting to ensure that all students are reading proficiently in third grade by 2020. The Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading, coordinated by the Winthrop Rockerfeller Foundation and supported by several OTL allies, is pushing for better access to early childhood education and summer programs, a reduction in chronic absenteeism and an increase in parent and community engagement.