From school bus rides and a steel mill tour to home child care visits and K-12 classroom observations, this fall's WE CARE-A-VAN tour offered adventure and learning every step of the way.  

Faculty and staff from the College of Education and Health Professions journeyed nearly 700 miles across Northeast Arkansas for this semester's tour, stopping in Harrison, Mountain View, Jonesboro, Osceola and Cherry Valley.

Each semester, the college uses WE CARE-A-VAN tours to hear from a wide range of people, strengthen connections with partners and learn about the successes and challenges facing communities and organizations across Arkansas through visits with schools, clinics, stakeholders, alumni and friends.

"Each stop on this semester's WE CARE-A-VAN tour offered meaningful experiences," said Dean Kate Mamiseishvili. "We saw incredible work happening throughout Northeast Arkansas and were grateful for the chance to learn, connect with alumni and spark new collaborations."

On day one, the caravan split into two for the tour's first stops to family child care homes in Harrison that are part of the Early Care and Education Projects (ECEP) Family Child Care Network. April Middleton, owner of ABC Academy of Valley Springs, and Julie Shatwell, owner of The Sunny Patch, shared how they developed their child care facilities and what they find most rewarding about helping the youngest Arkansans.

Then, everyone joined together for a panel discussion with ECEP staff and coaches at North Arkansas College. Panelists discussed ECEP's mission, the Family Child Care Network and the work being done to improve early language outcomes through the AR LENA Grow Project.

ECEP Director Kathy Pillow Price said the work they do is so important because it's foundational to the long-term success of Arkansans across the state.

"If we don't get birth to five right, we'll never raise those reading scores, we'll never raise those math scores, and futures are not going to be as bright as they could be," she said.

On the drive from Harrison to Jonesboro, the caravan made a stop in Mountain View to experience crafts, games and live music at Ozark Folk Center State Park.

Day two started on the campus of Arkansas State University, with a visit to the New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine's Delta Population Health Institute. Executive Director Brookshield Laurent guided caravan participants through their work in community engagement, education and research to improve the health of those throughout the Arkansas Delta.

Laurent also gave tours of the institute's very own care-a-van, the Delta Care-a-van, which travels throughout the Mississippi Delta region to provide free preventive health services to those in need.

Next, the college traveled further east to Osceola to meet up with coaches and fellows from the Arkansas Teacher Corps, another outreach unit of the college.

Across three different Osceola schools, the caravan enjoyed a front-row seat to ATC coaching in action. Through real-time classroom exercises, fellows demonstrated the strategies they had learned throughout the three-year ATC fellowship, while ATC coaches shared what helps fellows become successful educators.

After a luncheon between the college, ATC staff and representatives from the Osceola Chamber of Commerce, the caravan made one more stop in Osceola at Big River Steel, where they enjoyed a tour of one of the world's largest steel manufacturing facilities.

The college hosted a reception in the evening at the Jonesboro Country Club, where many alumni and familiar faces from the trip were in attendance, including U of A Board of Trustees Vice Chair Steve Cox. 

Mamiseishvili shared information about the college's WE CARE strategic plan and the inspiration behind visiting other regions of the state on WE CARE-A-VAN tours.

"I'm very excited that we're here and that we get to visit with you," she told the crowd. "Commitment to Arkansas Excellence, CARE, is the centerpiece of our strategic plan and our vision, and we will continue to do our best to support you and your work."

Day three kicked off with a short drive to Cherry Valley, where the group swapped out their caravan of cars for a school bus to tour Cross County Elementary and High schools.

Nathan Morris, 2026 Arkansas Superintendent of the Year and a two-time alum of the college, outlined the work the district is doing to promote student growth, like expanded college and career preparatory programs in the high school.

At the elementary school, Cross County has launched character education initiatives to promote values like self-discipline, compassion and integrity. School counselor Carly Owens shared that they recently added humility to their existing set of core values and have seen growth in students as a result.

"Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's just thinking of yourself less," she said.

With the conclusion of this semester's WE CARE-A-VAN, the college has now traveled over 2,600 miles in pursuit of building partnerships across the state. Since the first tour in the fall of 2023, WE CARE-A-VAN tours have made stops in Pine Bluff, Portland, Monticello, El Dorado, Texarkana, Mena, De Queen, Hot Springs, Danville and more.