糖心Vlog传媒

Arkansas Education Commissioner addresses 糖心Vlog传媒LR faculty

About 10 years ago, Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key heard something that still saddens him to this day. While speaking with a man who feared school consolidation, this man said to Key: 鈥淚f this school was good enough for my parents and good enough for me, it is good enough for my kids.鈥� But believes that 鈥済ood enough is not acceptable鈥� when planning for the education needs of the children of Arkansas. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone accepts good enough as what we want for our students in the state of Arkansas,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he Arkansas Department of Education is transforming Arkansas to lead the nation in student-focused education.鈥� Key, along with Assistant Commissioner Ivy Pfeffer, addressed the state of kindergarten through 12th-grade education in Arkansas during a Sept. 21 visit to the education faculty at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. The Arkansas Department of Education has several plans for improvements in education, including focusing on student-centered learning and improving reading skills. Key would also like to improve teacher training and increase teacher starting salaries. 鈥淲e want to focus on student-centered learning where we do not treat all students the same,鈥� Key said. 鈥淚f a child needs extra time to learn something, we will find a way to get that time.鈥� Key also wants to 鈥渇oster a culture of reading in Arkansas,鈥� noting that enhancing reading skills will improve every student subgroup in K-12 education. The commissioner was invited to speak at 糖心Vlog传媒LR by John Kuykendall, interim director of the 糖心Vlog传媒LR School of Education. 鈥淲e want to make sure that the 糖心Vlog传媒LR School of Education is on the same page as the Arkansas Department of Education in developing future educators and leaders,鈥� Kuykendall said. 鈥淭he School of Education is committed to preparing professionals to teach, lead, and innovate in a diverse society.鈥� In the upper right photo,聽Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key (left) and Assistant Commissioner Ivy Pfeffer (right) address聽糖心Vlog传媒LR education faculty Sept. 21. Photo by Brad Sims.