Education notebook
LR district extends new registrations
The Little Rock School District has extended until the close of business on Jan. 11 the registration period for the 2019-20 school year.
The registration period is for students who will be new to the Little Rock district next year and for students who are seeking to attend schools outside their attendance zone.
The open enrollment period started Dec. 3 and was originally set to close Dec. 14.
Frederick Fields, the district’s senior director for student registration, said that the extension is the result of the district’s use this year of a new electronic registration process.
“We are aware that some of our patrons may need additional time to apply on the Gateway system,” he said. “Therefore, we are extending the open enrollment period until the close of the business day January 11, 2019.
“The deadline extension will have no impact on the date parents will be notified of the 2019-2020 assignments,” Fields said.
Information about the registration process is on the district’s website: LRSD.org.
Agency releases framework draft
The Arkansas Department of Education has released a draft of Family and Commu- nity Engagement Framework Essentials/Key Elements — along with a sample page of a proposed toolkit — for public review and comment.
The draft and sample toolkit are the work of the Family and Community Engagement Coalition, which is made up of stakeholders from across the state.
Any comments concerning the proposed framework essentials/key elements and developing toolkit should be sent to Arkansas Department of Education, Family and Community Engagement Office, 4 Capitol Mall, Mail Slot 19, Little Rock, AR 72201. Comments may also be emailed to ade.engagementmatters@arkansas.gov. The deadline for receiving comments is 4 p.m. Jan. 11.
The link to the Framework Essentials/Key Elements is: https://drive.google.com/ open?id=14FUEDubb-RVY3Dlq7u9GDwkZK9X4KJJg
The link to sample page of the developing toolkit is: https://docs.google.com/ document/d/1ktCqmxDjJunAqDPB6dYU939_toic9Bcanz2o77t6YGM/edit?usp=sharing
AR Kids Read chief to retire in spring
Charlie Conklin, executive director of AR Kids Read, has announced that he will retire in the spring from the organization that recruits and trains volunteers to listen to children practice reading in public schools.
“It has been so fulfilling to see that what began as an effort to help students improve their reading in eight elementary schools in January 2012 is now a total community effort to build stronger reading in 49 schools,” Conklin said in a recent online newsletter.
“It has been an honor to lead this organization where all who serve share my passion, and work collaboratively with teachers, district and community leaders to bring excitement to reading. I look forward to just being a tutor next year and to AR Kids Read continuing to be a difference maker in the community.”
Conklin said the organization’s board of directors has established a search committee to find his successor.
Background-check rate to rise by $1.25
The cost of obtaining a background check, a step necessary to obtaining an Arkansas teacher license, is increasing.
Effective Tuesday the FBI is increasing the user fee rate for noncriminal fingerprint-based criminal history check, the Arkansas Department of Education announced last week.
The rate will go up by $1.25, so the new rate for the FBI portion will go from $13 to $14.25.
This will raise the overall price of the noncriminal background checks to $38.25. That does not include the separate cost of the Child Maltreatment Central Registry.