FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Arkansas Leadership Academy has named seven Arkansas educators to a design team to participate in a regional network aimed at improving schools in the southern region and nationally. The academy is a statewide partnership coordinated at the College of Education and Health Professions of the University of Arkansas.

Named to the Arkansas Leadership Academy team are leaders in education from throughout the state. Team members are Elaine Cowling, teacher center coordinator for the DeQueen/Mena Education Services Cooperative; Paula Cummins of Little Rock, facilitator with the Arkansas Leadership Academy; Beverly Elliott, director of the Arkansas Leadership Academy; Carolyn McCoy, director of the Arkansas River Education Service Cooperative in Pine Bluff; Kathy Morledge, director of communications and board training for the Arkansas School Boards Association; David Westmoreland, unit leader for school improvement with the Arkansas Department of Education; and Keith Williams, superintendent of the Beebe school district.

The Southern Regional Education Board, which initiated the network to link programs in 16 southern states to develop school leadership teams, selected the Arkansas Leadership Academy to participate and is sponsoring four team members from the academy. Academy partners will support three additional educators to bring the total to seven team members.

Teams in the SREB network will work together over an extended period to apply research-based knowledge to improve curriculum and instructional practices in their schools. Funding for the project is provided by the Wallace-Reader’s Digest Funds.

Governor Mike Huckabee said, "It is exciting to see the efforts of the Arkansas Leadership Academy being recognized by the SREB. The academy has already increased the leadership capacity in our state with the valuable training offered to teachers and administrators. The joint project with SREB will be an opportunity for the academy to impact not only educators in Arkansas, but also educators nationwide."

Arkansas Rep. Olin Cook, who is on the board of the SREB and a member of its Legislative Advisory Committee, was named to the SREB network and will be active in the first meeting of the network in Atlanta. Cook had participated in an academy training session for school superintendents in the past and was impressed with the work of the Arkansas Leadership Academy.

"The Leadership Academy competed against about fifty other groups, and its application was very strong," Cook said. "I’m looking forward to the SREB meeting in Atlanta and hope it will spur us on to become more involved in the work of the academy."

"The Arkansas Leadership Academy is an outstanding example of collaboration between the university, state government and the private sector," said UA Chancellor John A. White. "We are proud of the academy’s impact on Arkansas through its proven and popular institutes. In recognition of her leadership and contributions, the academy’s director, Beverly Elliott, has been named the first Stewart T. Springfield Professor in Educational Administration in the College of Education and Health Professions."

"The Arkansas Leadership Academy has played an important role in Arkansas education," said Reed Greenwood, dean of the College of Education and Health Professions. "A great many of the educators who will be tackling the key issues in Arkansas education-quality of programs, accountability, funding and equity-have learned critical skills in Leadership Academy institutes. As part of the SREB network, the academy will be joining some of the foremost educators in the southern region to advance our schools."

Established by the Arkansas legislature in 1991, the Arkansas Leadership Academy has been built by its 44 partners from education, government, and business and industry who meet regularly to set policy and direction. In naming the academy to the network, SREB cited the quality of the academy’s work and its commitment to developing school teams to lead comprehensive school improvement efforts.

"Being named to the SREB network is a tribute to the academy partners from around the state," said Beverly Elliott, associate professor and director of the academy. "I am especially impressed that the academy partners were eager to go above and beyond by making the commitment to fund three additional team members. This is a tremendous opportunity for the Arkansas Leadership Academy to work with insightful and experienced educators from other leadership academies and the SREB."

Elliott noted that the academy has a strong history in leadership team development in Arkansas. Participating in the SREB network, Elliott said, will put the academy in the center of the regional effort to design evaluation systems to measure systemic change.

"I think that the academy’s partners have put together an exceptional team of educators," Elliott said, "and I am excited about the opportunity to work closely with these individuals and about the potential this team has to provide leadership to Arkansas education."

SREB was created in 1948 by the governors of 16 southern states to improve educational quality and opportunity and was the nation’s first interstate compact for education. SREB fosters cooperation between government and education leaders, develops educational initiatives designed to build the economic strength of states, and provides information about school performance.

The Arkansas Leadership Academy is a collaborative partnership consisting of the following 44 educational and professional organizations, universities, and business corporations: Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators; Arkansas Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development; Arkansas Education Association; Arkansas Leadership Exchange; Arkansas North Central Association; Arkansas Rural Education Association; Arkansas School Boards Association; Arkansas Public Relations Association; National State Teachers of the Year, Arkansas Chapter; Arkansas State University; Arkansas Tech University; Harding University; Henderson State University; Lyon College; Ouachita Baptist University; Southern Arkansas University; University of Arkansas, Fayetteville; University Of Arkansas, Little Rock; University Of Arkansas, Monticello; University Of Arkansas, Pine Bluff; University Of Central Arkansas; Williams Baptist College; the 15 education service cooperatives; Arkansas Department of Education; Arkansas Department of Higher Education; Arkansas Department of Workforce Education; Arkansas Educational Television Network; Tyson Foods, Inc.; Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.; and the Walton Family Foundation. The partnership is charged with improving public education in the state by enhancing and developing leadership.