/news-archive/tag/north-little-rock-school-district/ 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Thu, 03 May 2018 17:25:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.9.4 /news-archive/2018/05/03/longtime-ua-little-rock-volunteer-receive-presidents-award/ Thu, 03 May 2018 17:25:44 +0000 /news/?p=70413 ... Longtime 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock volunteer to receive President鈥檚 Award]]> For Mauri Douglass, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock holds a special place. It鈥檚 where she laid the foundation for a 30-year career in gifted education. It鈥檚 where she met her husband, where many of her lifelong friendships first took root, and where her own children would later attend. 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is also where Douglass has remained engaged in community service and why she has been chosen to receive this year鈥檚 Presidents Award, which honors alumni who have achieved career success, donated time and talents to their community, and remained in touch with their alma mater as a volunteer and resource. The award will be presented at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Distinguished Alumni Luncheon at 11:30 a.m. Friday, May 11, in the Great Hall of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center. Douglass has volunteered hundreds of hours serving on the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Association Board. For the past four years, she has chaired Taste of Little Rock, a signature fundraiser for the university. This year’s event raised more than $138,000 for scholarships. Choosing 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock was an easy decision for Douglass (Class of 鈥�74 and 鈥�86). Both of her parents attended the former Little Rock Junior College, and three of her four siblings also attended. When her older sister, Vicki Draper, attended, the university was called Little Rock University. Two of Douglass and her husband Lee鈥檚 three children have chosen 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock for their education. Middle child Jay Douglass has a computer science degree. Daughter Keri Douglass Walker earned an undergraduate degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and completed a master鈥檚 degree in business information systems at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock in December. The couple鈥檚 youngest child, Sam, is a junior at 糖心Vlog传媒 Fayetteville. Douglass completed two degrees of her own during her time at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock 鈥� an undergraduate degree in elementary education in 1974 and a master鈥檚 degree in education in 1986 – as well as a certification in gifted education. 鈥淎rkansas was on the forefront of gifted education,鈥� Douglass said. 鈥淧eople were coming from around the country to see what we were doing. It was the place for gifted education, and I was fortunate I was educated here.鈥� Douglass taught for 33 years, including 25 years in gifted and talented education. All but two years of her career were spent in the North Little Rock School District, including Rose City, Boone Park, Amboy, and Crestwood elementary schools. She credits her long, successful teaching career to the education she received at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and to the connections she made. Douglass retired from teaching in 2010, and husband Lee retired in December 2017 as chief legal officer at Arkansas Blue Cross Blue Shield. The couple may not have met had it not been for Greek life at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. Mauri was a Chi Omega, and Lee was a member of Kappa Sigma. When members are initiated, they receive a chapter pin number based on the order of initiation into the chapter. The couple have the same pin number 鈥� 141 鈥� 聽in their respective Greek organizations. 鈥淲e were meant to be together,鈥� she said matter-of-factly. 鈥淲e started dating my sophomore year, and we will be married 45 years in June.鈥� Greek life has remained a part of Douglass鈥� life long after college. After graduation, she served as a Chi Omega chapter advisor for 12 years the first time around. Then, in 2011, she returned for a second round as recruitment advisor and community service advisor. She retired from those positions in 2016 and is now alumnae liaison for the Chi Omega chapter at the 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Alumni Association, her Gamma Zeta chapter sisters, and the Little Rock Chi Omega Alumnae Club. 鈥淚 know people across all 54 years of Chi Omega鈥檚 presence at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 can go into any age group and feel like I鈥檓 one of them.鈥� When the Chi Omega chapter began planning for its 50th anniversary in 2014, Douglass was asked to chair the event. 鈥淭he tradition for the 50-year celebration is a gift to the university. That鈥檚 how I got really involved at 糖心Vlog传媒LR,鈥� Douglass recalled. 鈥�During that time, I got to know people in the Alumni Association. They helped us find missing sisters and helped us plan our courtyard.鈥� To raise money, the sorority sold bricks to help build and maintain Chi Omega Courtyard Plaza near Ottenheimer Library. 聽Another fundraising campaign raised money for the Gamma Zeta Scholarship, a $1,000 scholarship awarded each spring to a member of the Gamma Zeta Chapter of Chi Omega. Douglass doesn鈥檛 foresee her family鈥檚 involvement ending any time soon. 鈥淭his is where we made so many friendships and connections that have been so helpful, both personally and professionally,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e love 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock and all that it has done for us.鈥� Mauri Douglass is the recipient of the 2018 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock Presidents Award. Photo by Sara Reeves.]]> /news-archive/2018/03/30/jodie-mahony-center-video/ Fri, 30 Mar 2018 19:33:14 +0000 /news/?p=69980 ... National Science Teachers Association shines spotlight on Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education]]> Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock is the subject of a new short film featuring the center鈥檚 work in outreach programs to children and teachers.Each year the (NSTA) chooses a program to highlight at the conference, and this year, they chose 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock鈥檚 Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education. The film debuted March 15 at the NSTA national conference in Atlanta, the largest science educators professional group in the U.S. The March conference reached 9,000 to 11,000 educators. Subsequently, the film will be distributed by NSTA-TV to the much larger membership. 鈥淲e are thrilled for this kind of recognition for our work,鈥� said Ann Robinson, professor and director of the Jodie Mahony Center and past president of the National Association for Gifted Children. 鈥淭here are only about 20 centers in the U.S., and they picked 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock.鈥� The film tells the story of developing academic talents and meeting the needs of advanced learners in classrooms in the context of the center’s activities. One program in particular that drew interest was the center鈥檚 STEM Starters+ program, which investigates the effectiveness of creative and rigorous curricula with a focus on science and engineering and companion teacher professional development on spotting talent and serving children from low-income and ethnically diverse households. The program, funded by a five-year Research and Development Jacob K. Javits Grant from the U.S. Department of Education, operates in 23 elementary schools in the El Dorado, Pulaski County Special, North Little Rock and Little Rock School Districts. Students and teachers from Terry Elementary, one of the participating Little Rock schools, were featured in the film alongside Robinson; Dr. Christine Deitz, associate director of the Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education; and Kristy Kidd, project director of STEM Starters+. In the film, Robinson shares the philosophy of the Jodie Mahony Center saying, 鈥淚f they鈥檙e not challenged, in other words, if there is not an optimal match between what a child knows now and what they need to learn next, then you don鈥檛 get the opportunity for every child to learn something new every day.鈥� This NSTA-TV film allows the center to share this vision and hope for fulfilling the academic needs of all children. STEM Starters+ is just one of the ways the Jodie Mahony Center for Gifted Education supports and advocates for gifted education. The other areas of service are professional development and graduate education for teachers and schools through online graduate programs and Advanced Placement Summer Institutes for teachers; programs for talented youth such as Summer Laureate University for Youth; curriculum development through the Blueprints for Biography series; and research on talent development.]]>