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MC3 Work in Arkansas

The Mid-Continent Comprehensive Center (MC3), in conjunction with each state education agency (SEA), develops an annual state work plan. The MC3 work plan for the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) addresses the following capacity building goals.

• Build ADE’s capacity to support districts and schools most in need of improvement and close the achievement gaps among diverse student populations.
• Enhance ADE’s capacity to to support districts and schools in their use of supplemental educational services to include approval, monitoring, and evaluation of vender services and performance.
• Increase ADE's capacity to provide quality instruction to low achieving students in alternative education settings.

Read the full MC3 Arkansas Work Plan.

Latest Work

Indistar Summit (September 1, 2010)

MCKINNEY-VENTO Education for the Homeless Conference (October 4, 2010)

MC3 Arkansas State Coordinating Council Quarterly Meeting (June 25, 2010)

MC3 staff members and MC3 Arkansas State Coordinating Council (SCC) members met to review the proposed Year 6 (2010-2011) MC3 Arkansas Work Plan and elicit input from the SCC members. The MC3 Arkansas Work Plan is a management document developed collaboratively over the past five years by MC3 and the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) to build ADE's capacity in supporting districts and schools to implement NCLB.

The MC3 Arkansas SCC (composed of ADE leadership selected by the Arkansas Commissioner of Education) and MC3 leadership and staff members discussed briefly the progress to date since the December 2009 meeting on the Year 5 (2009-2010) MC3 Arkansas Work Plan, reviewed the upcoming activities outlined in the work plan, and identified emerging needs.

English as a Second Language (ESL) Academy (June 19, 2010)

 

At the request of the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), MC3 ELL and Migrant Education Technical Assistance Coordinator Dr. Rosie García-Belina will present in two Arkansas intermediary agencies, one in Little Rock and the second one in Arkadelphia. Each presentation will consist of a two-hour workshop on parental involvement and will be addressed to professional developers and teachers attending the ADE English as a Second Language (ESL) Graduate Academy during the summer. The statewide Arkansas ESL Graduate Academy is required for teachers earning their ESL endorsement.

Summer 2010 Academy of Pacesetting States (June 14, 2010)

The Center on Innovation and Improvement (CII) through the Academy of Pacesetting States provided follow up training, consultation, and support for state teams from Arkansas and Oklahoma to share experiences and expand development of skilled experts in the three critical areas of system leaders, change agents, and instructional specialists.  The Summer Conference 2010 was held in Coeur D'Alene Resort in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho, on June 14-17, 2010.  Pacesetting states presented creative updates on their efforts over the past year in developing their statewide systems of support (SSOS) as they worked to improve how their states supported districts and schools in need of improvement.  Idaho  Chief State School Officer Tom Luna joined the Idaho team in welcoming fellow teams. Center on Reinventing Education Director Paul Hill provided the keynote on the importance of state leadership in transforming schools.  Pacesetting state teams also heard from national experts on the impact of decisions made by leadership at the school, the district, and the state.

Information about the Summer Academy and participants, PowerPoint presentations, and resources from the Academy may be accessed at http://www.centerii.org/academy/.

Arkansas Longitudinal Data Use for Improved Student Learning Pilot Project - Data Use and Formative Assessement Forum (June 10, 2010)

A follow-up session of the Arkansas Longitudinal Data Use for Improved Student Learning Pilot Project was held June 10, 2010 in Hope, Arkansas at the Southwest Educational Service Cooperative. The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) coordinated the event in collaboration with MC3 and the Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing (CRESST). Educators representing the original pilot schools from the Southwest Educational Service Cooperative participated in the event. Following a review of information learned from November 2008 through July 2009, participants accessed online data from the Arkansas Longitudinal Data System (ALDS); modeled the steps originally used to provide professional development to teachers, coaches, and administrators; and were introduced to additional information.

Arkansas Special Show (July 28, 2010)

ELL Special Needs Task Force (July 18, 2010)

Arkansas Association of Alternative Educators Conference (July 11, 2010)

MC3 Technical Assistance (TA) Team

MC3 Arkansas TA Liaison Janie Russell
MC3 Arkansas TA Coordinator Sharon Brooks

Arkansas State Coordinating Council

• Dr. Tom Kimbrell, Commissioner
• Mr. Phoebe Bailey, Teacher Center Coordinator
• Ms. Annette Barnes, School Improvement Coordinator
• Dr. Alice Barnes Rose, Division of Learning Services Assistant Commissioner
• Dr. Laura Bednar, Assistant Commissioner for Learning Services
• Mr. Deborah Coffman, Professional Development Associate Director
• Dr. Dee Cox, Director of Special Programs
• Dr. Barbara Hunter Cox, Teacher Center Coordinator
• Ms. Barbara Culpepper, Teacher Quality Education Coordinator
• Ms. Polly Davis, Public School Program Advisor
• Mr. Shelley Dirst, iTunes U Coordinator
• Ms. Heather Gage, Special Advisor to Commissioner
• Ms. Lisa Haley, Arkansas State Improvement Grant Literacy Coordinator
• Ms. Marcia Harding, Special Education Associate Director
• Mr. Tom Hicks, Special Education Coordinator
• Mrs. Becky Jester, Director
• Mr. Lori Lamb, Director of Alternative Education Programs
• Ms. Norma Lowery, Curriculum, Assessment and Research
• Ms. Bernice Martin-Russell, ASCIP Program Support Manager
• Dr. Bill Nielsen, Program Support Manager
• Dr. Dennis Plyler, K-12 Science Program Manager
• Mr. Jim Short, Curriculum, Assessment & Research
• Ms. Otistene Smith, School Improvement Federal Programs Liaison
• Ms. Julie Thompson, Communications
• Ms. Beverly Williams, Assistant Commissioner, Division of Human Resources/Licensure