Second Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellow Receives Teacher of Year Honor

Photo by Benton Brown

Randi Curtis, left, is congratulated by Robert Poole, superintendent of the Prescott School District.

Randi Curtis, an Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellow, was named Educator of the Year for the Prescott School District and honored recently at the Prescott Nevada County Chamber of Commerce annual banquet.

Curtis teaches high school art in Prescott. She was named an ATC Fellow in 2013, the first class in the program established by the College of Education and Health Professions at the University of Arkansas. The teacher-preparation program addresses teacher shortages in high-need districts based on shortages in both geographic areas and specific content areas. The Fellows go through six weeks of intensive training in the summer and are assigned to high-need schools in south, central and northeast Arkansas.

"We are pleased that our Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellows are making such an immediate impact in their communities," said Tom Smith, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions.

In February, Will Chesher, a 2013 Arkansas Teacher Corps Fellow, was named Teacher of the Year by the Hope Rotary Club.

Robert Poole, superintendent of the Prescott School District, said about Curtis that she has shown great dedication to teaching in her two years there.

"She comes to us and says, hey, what can I do to help improve the literacy scores, what can I do to help the teachers in math, what can I do that helps teachers in social studies or history," Poole said at the ceremony. "This teacher hasn't been a teacher for very long, but she has the passion that it takes to produce top-notch citizens of this community. We are very proud of her."

Curtis earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Arkansas in ceramics and is pursuing a master's degree in art education online through Boston University.

Arkansas Teacher Corps has the support of the Arkansas Department of Education and collaborates with school districts and community organizations. Funding for the program has been made available through collaboration between the College of Education and Health Professions, the Walton Family Foundation, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, and the Women's Giving Circle at the University of Arkansas. The program is also supported by individual donors through the Arkansas Teacher Corps Society.