Back to High School? Oh No, Not The Breakfast Club.

Who in the world ever would see themselves going back to Elementary, Junior or High School? For me, it was a time of awkward puberty. Did I get school detention? Yes. Mostly for chewing gum and smart mouthing. Okay, and causing harmless pranks. But, I never thought I would have to go back there. However, as member of the State Legislature and part of the Governor's “Take Your Legislator to School Month,” I will be returning to school next month. I am pretty sure I won't end up in detention, but my heart still jumps a little up in my chest at the thought.
I totally understand The Breakfast Club.

The development of informed, effective, and responsible citizens is an important task.  Just like music and art, appreciation of democracy is one that can be enhanced in the classroom.

That is just part of the reason why members of the 90th General Assembly are reaching out to their local school districts.

In the 2015 Regular Session the Arkansas General Assembly passed a resolution designating September as annual “Take Your Legislator to School Month."  In addition to helping students learn more about the legislative process, this bipartisan initiative was also motivated by a need for members to fully understand the issues and challenges facing public schools in their districts.  In addition, it gives districts an opportunity to showcase innovative solutions developed by our educators.

The resolution encourages public school districts to plan special events with their local legislators.  Examples could include allowing legislators to visit classrooms,  read to students, or present guest lectures. Districts could also sponsor panel discussions in which administrators, teachers, and students discuss issues facing their schools.  We believe any activity that engages and involves legislators in the work of their public schools would be beneficial to both the district and to the legislator.

We devote over 43% of all net available General Revenue to K-12 education.  Our education committee hears testimony hundreds of bills every session and studies our progress continually in the interim.  Relationships with teachers can help provide us with the valuable insight needed to vote in a manner helpful to students and teachers.

On our website, www.arkansashouse.org, we have a section titled  “Kids in the House." There you will find all the materials your local school district will need to take advantage of this opportunity.  In the materials we have included a spreadsheet listing the members who represent all 257 districts in our state.

        If you have a child in school, we hope your first week back was an encouraging one.  We look forward visiting the classrooms and meeting as many educators as possible in the upcoming month. 

Let the Rebecca's Have It.

Just got back home from a Republican Party of Benton County meeting. It was a very informative meeting and the highlight of the evening was Rebecca Powers who is running for Re-Election for Bentonville School Board. What I love about Rebecca is she was a young mother (like I was) was a single mother (like I was) yet, she still fought hard to get where she is today. She's so smart, well-spoken, educated (a Master of Arts in Teaching) and did all this while being a single mom and working full time.

Her presentation was fantastic! Her push/palm card talks of five points that I was truly impressed with:

1. Obviously, her Master of Arts in Teaching

2. She is a former teacher.

3. She is committed to academic achievement for all students.

4. She supports responsible use of taxpayer dollars.

5. Finally, her strong conservative leadership.

I know from listening to her presentation this evening that Rebecca Powers has been met with opposition and knowing what I know about politics that it is just par for the course. Politics isn't easy. You have to constantly fight for what you believe in. And today, when I was checking my own FaceBook I ran across this silly little quiz that said type your first name in this box and we will tell you what your name means. I usually don't do these quizzes, but for some reason I went ahead and typed Rebecca in the box and awaited the results. After a second or two it said:

 Little Fighter.

After going through many hardships in my own life and serving my first session in the House of Representatives, I found this to be true about myself AND after listening to Rebecca Powers speak in such a powerful manner and learning that she, too, has faced many hardships in life, I say to her,
"Keep fighting, Little Fighter."

Godspeed, my friend. Fight the good fight! You've got this.

Please get out and vote for Rebecca Powers if you live in Bentonville Public School Zone 1

Early voting begins Tuesday September 8th. Actual voting begins September 15th.

Arkansas House Weekly Column August 15th 2015

This is an exciting time in our state as over 470,000 students are zipping up their backpacks and heading back to school.  There are so many positive changes in education to look forward to this year. For starters, we now have more than 1,300 students signed up for computer programming as a result of our legislation to ensure every high school offers a computer science course.

 And to ensure that our students and teachers can devote their full attention to the academic challenges before them, we are very pleased to announce a state of the art system designed to keep our schools safe and provide our children with prompt emergency care when needed.

            The 90th General Assembly passed Act 950, the School Safety Act, during the 2015 Regular Session.  This legislation requires the creation of a panic button application which would be accessible to every teacher and school employee. In the event of an emergency, the teacher would press one button to contact emergency services.  This could be used for medical emergencies involving in a student or a school shooting.  If used for a state of emergency situation, such as a threat of violence, then the Smart 911 system would alert all teachers and staff in the school of the situation.  Emergency responders will be equipped with every floor plan of every school. The system is aimed at saving minutes which will ultimately save lives.

         This week, sponsors of the legislation announced the state has entered into a contract with Rave Mobile Safety to provide the service.The Department of Emergency Management is now working with all 257 school district to have the panic button application up and running by next month.

         The Centers for Disease Control reports that 7% of students nationwide have missed one or more days at school because they simply felt unsafe. There are no easy answers to questions these statistics raise,  but we hope this system will alleviate at least a portion of this fear for students and their families.

         Learning is a treasure that will follow you throughout your life. We encourage students to take advantage of the opportunities before them this school year.