Arkansas' new education secretary, Jacob Oliva, was the keynote speaker at the recent Moving Arkansas Education Forward Conference in Little Rock.

The U of A Office of Education Policy and the Department of Education Reform organize the annual conference. It offers an opportunity for faculty and students to share research on K-12 issues with a diverse group of stakeholders across the state.

Over 150 teachers, policymakers and other stakeholders participated in last month's event. Education Reform faculty and doctoral students, along with various other guest speakers, shared their Arkansas education-related research and discussed the future of the teaching workforce, career and technical education and other education issues in the state.

Jacob Oliva, the new Arkansas Department of Education secretary, headlined the conference. Oliva's keynote focused on the proposed Arkansas LEARNS bill. Before being named secretary and commissioner, Oliva served in multiple roles at the Florida Department of Education, most recently as interim commissioner. The State Board of Education unanimously elected Oliva as the Arkansas Department of Education's Division of Elementary and Secondary Education commissioner in January.

Other highlights included:

• Gema Zamarro, professor and Twenty-First Century Endowed Chair in Teacher Quality, discussed vital research on teacher recruitment and retention, including loan forgiveness and "grow your own" programs that can help with hard-to-staff geographic areas;
• Sarah McKenzie, executive director of the Office for Education Policy, discussed the state's school grading formula and how making it more growth focused could help the state better recognize schools that are accelerating student learning; and
• Education Reform doctoral students Andrew Camp, Kate Barnes and Sarah Morris presented their policy-relevant research on Arkansas's teacher workforce, alternative school schedules and the importance of 9th grade student success.

Stacey McAdoo, executive director of Teach Plus Arkansas and 2019 Teacher of the Year, praised the conference. "I appreciated the opportunity to learn more about and ask questions of Secretary Oliva," she said. "And I especially loved how engaging and relevant the Issues in Education presentation was — watching the research practitioners live and in action truly made my teacher heart happy."

Conference materials are available here.

The Office for Education Policy provides Arkansas educators, policymakers and other stakeholders with research and advice about current education policy issues to help all students reach their full potential. The Department of Education Reform's mission is to produce high-quality research, shape education policy and grow influential scholars. The Office for Education Policy and Department of Education Reform are committed to proactively informing all education stakeholders to positively influence the future of education in Arkansas and beyond.