State Leaders Say Students Benefit From Collaboration by Educators

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Tom Kimbrell, standing at back, speaks to members of the Northwest Arkansas P-20 Task Force on Jan. 24.

Tom Kimbrell, Arkansas commissioner of education, and Shane Broadway, director of the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, recently urged educators who work in preschool through higher education settings in Northwest Arkansas to collaborate for the benefit of students.

The two state leaders addressed the third meeting of the Northwest Arkansas P-20 Task Force on Jan. 24. It was hosted by the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative and the Education Renewal Zone. The Education Renewal Zone is based in the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas.

More than 70 local school district administrators and higher education representatives attended the meeting to discuss ways to partner with each other. At Kimbrell’s behest, the task force plans to facilitate conferences between high school faculty and higher education faculty this spring so the two groups can work toward vertical alignment.

The next meeting of the NWA P-20 Task Force will be in May, and University of Arkansas faculty and staff are welcome to attend. Please email Elizabeth Smith if you would like more information.