State Board Approves Act 1240 Waivers
for Hope and Marion School Districts
Pekron Announces Resignation
By Christina Fowler
(LITTLE ROCK) - The State Board of Education approved Hope School District’s for a waiver of teacher licensure for 5 years, as well as Marion School District’s requests for a waiver of teacher licensure and a waiver of the Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act, during Thursday’s meeting.
Hope School District requested a teacher licensure waiver in order to take advantage of the opportunity to better prepare their students for college through a partnership between Hope Collegiate Academy and the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana (UAHT).
“We started two years ago trying to increase the college graduation rate in our county. Right now it’s at around 14 percent. We know that the majority of our students at our high school, when they do go to college, they are first-generation. This means they need supports. They need help. They don’t know to go to the registrar. They don’t know where things are. So we partnered with the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana to come up with a program to give kids an opportunity to be immersed in an early college setting that allows them to graduate from Hope High School and [UofA] Hope-Texarkana at the same time,” Bobby Hart, Hope School District Superintendent, said.
All 10th-grade students in Hope Collegiate Academy receive instruction on the UAHT campus from UAHT instructors. However, these instructors are not required by the university to have K-12 licensure and the courses are not considered concurrent college credit courses. All board members voted in favor of granting the waiver.
Marion School District requested a teacher licensure waiver and waiver of the Public School Employee Fair Hearing Act only for those teachers hired under the Act 1240 licensure waiver. Hugh Inman, Marion School District Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, highlighted the importance of this waiver in order to gain the ability to grow teachers from the Crittenden County area. Teachers hired under this waiver would be provided with mentors and training supplied by the district as well as their local educational cooperative, as well as afterschool professional development on test-taking strategies and guidance to help pass Praxis exams.
Marion School District currently has 32 teachers working under either an emergency teacher permit or a long-term sub, and of those 66 percent have made progress toward licensure.
“We’re not looking to hire unlicensed teachers. Most of these people we are talking about, they are on a pathway to licensure. It’s just that with an emergency teacher permit, there’s no way to get a third year,” Inman said.
The waiver of the Public School Fair Hearing Act was requested to allow the school district to move forward with candidates working toward licensure who enhance student learning opportunities, promote innovation and are overall effective teachers, and remove those who are not. The board voted unanimously to grant both waivers.
As the meeting came to a close, Chad Pekron announced his resignation from the State Board of Education to be effective following the meeting. Pekron shared he has accepted a new job that will require significant travel and would prevent him from performing his duties as a board member.
“I’ve enjoyed my brief time on the board. I’ve enjoyed getting to know my fellow board members, Commissioner Key, and the staff. I commend you all for your hard work and dedication to the students of Arkansas. Everybody I have met with and interacted with here always has that first and foremost in their minds,” Pekron said.