Lieutenant Governor to Talk About Common Core Review in U of A Visit

Courtesy of Lieutenant Governor's Office

Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin will speak about the work of the Governor’s Council on Common Core Review at noon, Friday, Sept. 18 on the University of Arkansas campus.

Griffin’s lecture is titled “Reflections of a Public School Parent: The Governor’s Council on Common Core Review and Education Reform in Arkansas.” He will also talk about some ideas for education reform being considered in the state.

Griffin will be the special guest of the Department of Education Reform in the College of Education and Health Professions, which hosts a lecture series during the fall and spring semesters. The lecture is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served, and an RSVP to the department’s website is required. The lecture will take place in the auditorium foyer, Room 166, of the Graduate Education Building.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the formation of the Governor’s Council on Common Core Review on Feb. 11, with Griffin named to chair the council. The council was composed of educators, parents, business leaders and a U of A student and assigned the task of reviewing and analyzing the Common Core standards adopted by 42 states, including Arkansas. The council held a nine-city listening tour and more than 40 hours of hearings that included 16 panels and 50 witnesses offering a wide range of perspectives.

On July 30, the council presented its findings and recommendations to Hutchinson that included a comprehensive review be conducted of the standards with the goal of revising, improving and replacing, as warranted, both the mathematics and English language arts standards and ensuring that the experiences of parents and educators are reflected and utilized in the Arkansas standards. The council also recommended that the state use the test prepared by American College Testing, or ACT, instead of the test developed by the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, or PARCC. Much of the criticism of the standards stems from parental and educator dissatisfaction with the PARCC test, according to the council.

Griffin was elected as lieutenant governor on Nov. 4, 2014, and completed his second term as the 24th representative of Arkansas’s 2nd Congressional District. For the 113th Congress, he was a member of the House Committee on Ways and Means while also serving as a deputy whip for the majority. In the 112th Congress, he served as a member of the House Armed Services Committee, the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the House Committee on the Judiciary.

Griffin is a graduate of Magnolia High School, Hendrix College in Conway and Tulane Law School in New Orleans, and he attended graduate school at Oxford University. He has served in the U.S. Army Reserve for 18 years, was deployed to Iraq with the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) and holds the rank of lieutenant colonel. He also served as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas and special assistant to the president and deputy director of political affairs for President George W. Bush.

About the Department of Education Reform: The mission of the Department of Education Reform is to advance education and economic development in Arkansas and nationwide by focusing on the improvement of K-12 schools. The Department of Education Reform is committed to producing and disseminating high-quality research that will inform policymakers, scholars, parents, teachers, administrators and the general public about policies and practices that could improve the performance of schools in Arkansas and nationwide.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.