The following remarks were delivered by Gary Newton, President and CEO of Arkansas Learns, on the occasion of the organization’s first Annual Meeting, at noon, Thursday, May 30, 2013 in the Wally Allen Ballroom of the Statehouse Convention Center in Little Rock.
Welcome/Introduction
Good afternoon, I’m Gary Newton, and following the promotion this morning of my Don Roberts Elementary Fifth Graders, it is my privilege to welcome you to the First Annual Meeting of Arkansas Learns, the new voice of employers, parents and citizens dedicated to excellent education for all students.
First, let’s thank the Little Rock Central High String Quartet for sharing their talents with us today. Our musicians are all completing their Freshman year and include:
- Angela Wang and Katherine Hale, Violins
- Anna Norman, Viola
- Jonah Davidson, Cello
We’ll enjoy hearing more from them during lunch.
Today’s event is presented by Delta Dental of Arkansas, represented today by President and CEO Ed Choate. Ed, would you and your team please stand and accept the thanks of our members and guests.
Our lunch is presented in partnership with the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.
Thank you, Chambers, for your business and economic development leadership and for your support to ensure the talent and workforce necessary for Arkansas to successfully compete in a global economy.
Finally, our programs and signs are by Drew Simpson our friends at TCPrint Solutions.
Fittingly, we will begin our program with the Pledge of Allegiance, led by Monica Velasquez, a graduating senior at Little Rock’s eStem High Public Charter School.
To present the colors, we have the 2012 Navy League Most Improved and Distinguished Navy Junior ROTC, featuring:
- Commanding Officer Lieutenant Commander Robyn Willis,
- Executive Officer Lieutenant Jonathan Christensen,
- Operations Officer Lieutenant Junior Grade Melissa Swift, and
- Command Master Chief Andre Calloway
Ladies and Gentlemen, please rise for the Presentation of the Colors by the Little Rock Parkview Arts Science Magnet High School Navy Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps Honor Guard.
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Thank you Monica and the Parkview Junior ROTC Honor Guard.
Following our invocation, please enjoy the Central High School String Quarter and your lunch, as our program will begin in around 15 minutes.
To deliver our invocation, please welcome a student leader of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, also from Little Rock Central High, who will be playing football next year for the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Golden Lions, Jonathan Watson.
Year in Review/Year Ahead
Thank you again, Little Rock Central High School String Quartet for sharing your talent with us today.
We are fortunate to be joined by special guests too numerous to mention. However, two require a Welcome Back and a Welcome Home, respectively:
At the North Little Rock Chamber table, the new superintendent of the North Little Rock School District, Mr. Kelly Rodgers.
And at the Little Rock Regional Chamber table, the new superintendent of the Little Rock School District, Dr. Dexter Suggs.
Gentlemen, the key to Central Arkansas’s economic development success has been our commitment to regional cooperation. May your two districts join with the County, as well as the new Jacksonville/North Pulaski County School District, to usher in a new generation of leadership committed to collaboration and excellence among schools, cities and our business community.
Further, may your respective boards give you the tools you need to prioritize student success over everything else and free you from the decisions of the past, which stand in your way.
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Most everyone agrees, the key to success in public education is parental and community involvement. Arkanas Learns just happens to believe that involvement begins with the recruitment, election and reelection of those who govern public education at the local and state levels.
What has been termed, by a legislative leader in this room, the “Iron Triangle” of education lobbies in our state – the publicly funded Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators and the Arkansas School Boards Association, as well as the public payroll deduction funded Arkansas/National Education Association – have long dominated local and state education governance of our public schools.
For example, of the eight results-oriented bills championed by Arkansas Learns and our partners during the 89th General Assembly, the iron triangle was either opposed or was officially silent on the vast majority.
Still, seven of those bills became law, while one – changing school board elections to the general – made it all the way to the House floor before being killed by 26 members who chose not to vote.
Today, we are pleased to honor those courageous legislators who truly put students first and achieved a 100% A+ voting record on Arkansas Learns’ first Legislative Report Card. While the full Honor Roll list on on your programs, those joining us today include, and please rise when I call your name:
- Senator and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education Johnny Key
- Senator Eddie Joe Williams
- Representative Mark Biviano
- Representative and Vice Chairman of the House Committee on Education Ann Clemmer
- At the Little Rock Regional Chamber table, Representative Andy Davis
- At the Paris Chamber table, Representative Jon Eubanks
- Representative Andy Mayberry
Those achieving a 100% A Voting record, meaning they either didn’t vote on all the bills or had an expunged vote, are also listed on your program. Since those not voting on the school board election bill essentially killed it, they are not included.
Those joining us today, and again, please rise when i call your name, include:
- Senator Alan Clark
- At the Greater Hot Springs Chamber table, Senator Bill Sample
If you’re curious as to who received less than 100%, including the seven Represntatives who received either a D or an F, visit ArkansasLearns.org.
In our first year start-up, Arkansas Learns has focused on:
- State government and local school board advocacy;
- Parent and community mobilization for traditional school district responsiveness and charter school creation; and
- Public awareness of pre-K through 16 performance.
In just ten days, candidates for the 239 school boards in our state may begin collecting the 20 signatures required to get on the ballot. As we look ahead, Arkansas Learns stands ready to assist our local communities and chambers in the recruitment, training and election of school board candidates with the following core principles:
- Customer/Student-first Focus
- Transparency
- Accountability
- Innovation and Best Practices
- Return on Investment
Because we were unsuccessful at the legislature in moving school elections to election day, we will work with local and statewide media to mount a nonpartisan, statewide, school election voter turnout campaign.
By initially and generously funding the start-up of Arkansas Learns, the Walton Family Foundation has given the business community, parents and property taxpayers of our state the gift of a voice for our students. It is now up to the private sector to accept that gift, invest in the organization, and sustain Arkansas Learns’ students-first voice for years to come.
Excellent education for all students is nothing short of the greatest civil rights issue of our time. Communities and states which don’t, won’t or can’t excellently educate all of its students will fail.
So please, join us today at ArkansasLearns.org. The economic development of our students, families, communities and state depend on it.
Closing
Because of time constraints, the following was not delivered in its entirety.
Thank you, Dr. Grier, for your time and effort in joining us today and for your public/private leadership example in putting the needs of students first in every action.
Again, we thank Ed Choate and the team at Delta Dental of Arkansas for presenting our event today, as well as the partnership of the Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce/Associated Industries of Arkansas, Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, and the printing of TCPrint Solutions.
We also thank members of our 100% Legislative Honor Roll for your leadership and service.
And finally, we thank all of you, especially our table sponsors, for coming today and for your continued commitment to the vision of Arkansas Learns.
Together, we can insist on excellence throughout public education to ensure the individual, familial, community and state economic development our people deserve.
And once again, please join us at ArkansasLearns.org, because when Arkansas learns, Arkansas earns.
Thank you, and good afternoon.