Longtime child welfare advocate and mom of two Anna Strong came through with plenty of votes Tuesday to secure a spot on the Little Rock School District Board.
The Little Rock school board voted Thursday night 6-2 to move the West School of Innovation to Hall High School — a move that is bound to be controversial among some parents. But the consolidation is a necessity for the district as it grapples with shrinking student enrollment.
The Little Rock school board set its focus on quelling behavior problems in the classroom and hiring a new company to develop a districtwide plan at their meeting this week.
Ali Noland can speak from experience about the LRSD's unforgiving political culture. "When we’re running off candidates within the first 48 hours, before anyone has talked about substantive issues or debated policy, that’s a problem," she said.
Public school and democracy advocate Jim Ross considers Thursday's Little Rock School Board meeting in the context of Arkansas's increasingly oppressive and divisive political climate.
Board members heard about goals to boost student achievement, help staff do their best and make better use of data to shape classroom instruction at the April 27 meeting.