Stand strong for our students

The high gray-wool fog of February closed off the Fourche Valley from the sky and the rest of the world. It rolled down the rivers and settled like a lid over the Ozark and Ouachita Mountains, making the valley a closed pot. Tiny communities across four counties — Logan, Perry, Pope, and Yell — began to wake, but there was no sunshine. The air was cold.

In Ola, population 800 and the biggest town in a district that covers 78 miles, a group of teachers assembled a caravan at Two Rivers Public School. There was work to be done. These teachers had already prepared lessons for substitutes because their work was off campus this day.

Community members, school board members, and administration all joined forces with other teachers to make sure their classes were covered. They were commissioned to take a message from Two Rivers to Little Rock. They had a long trip ahead.

Named after the Fourche LaFave and Petit Jean Rivers that run through the area, Two Rivers is a consolidated amalgam of four smaller districts. They’ve seen “sweeping reforms” in education before. Reforms that swept their communities up like dust.

Katelyn Hodges was a part of the last class to graduate from Plainview-Rover School district before it consolidated with Ola, Fourche Valley, and Casa. In college she did her student teaching in Danville and then taught four years there before moving to Two Rivers to teach with her best friend Courtney Frost.

We connected through Arkansas Strong’s digital platform; I met Katelyn face-to-face last week at the Capitol. Ever since my own humiliating experience speaking to a House Education Committee that shunned me in 2021, one of the things I try to do is remove barriers between the public and our elected leaders. Arkansas Strong sponsored a “Take Your Teacher to the Legislature Day” Feb. 16.

Expecting 15 or so people, since it is so hard to get off work, I walked into the rotunda lobby to find a group of over 100 teachers waiting. Twenty-six of them wore blue Two Rivers Gators T-shirts to show their school pride. Katelyn hugged me.

When I asked her why she chose to teach at Two Rivers she said, “I decided if I was going to pursue education as my career I wanted to do it where I would really make a difference, and with people who were literally my family. So I came home.”

I walked with the teachers to the old Supreme Court room where Sen. Jane English hosted them. I watched as one by one they raised their hands to speak, classroom-style. As they told their stories about students and learning and love, I thought about how each one had a name, a whole community they represent. Years of hard work, dedication, and expertise.

Lately we’ve been reduced to “indoctrinators,” “liars,” and “lazy” by our government leaders. The truth is that we so desperately need to be heard.

Georgeanne Rollans, retired principal, Russellville. Laura Marsh, teacher, Arkansas Virtual School. Stacey McAdoo, Arkansas Teacher of the Year, Little Rock. Jenny Woodard Petty, ESL Coordinator, Nettleton. Stacey Buff, teacher, Siloam Springs. Natalie Gosdin, Special Ed Director, Monticello. Christie Mahl, retired teacher, County Line. Stone Faulkenberry, teacher and coach, Ozark. On and on, the hands kept raising, each one waiting their turn.

Katelyn shared her fears for her students at Two Rivers, how she’s unsure the school can survive the new mandates of LEARNS. Senator English had to cut it off to go chair the Senate Ed Committee meeting. We followed her but got kicked out of the meeting because there wasn’t enough room.

In the hall a guy from Two Rivers spoke to a reporter. “My name is Devin Tubbs and I am a high school science teacher. I am also a preacher, volunteer firefighter, and city councilman. My faith has been the single most foundational thing in my life. That is why education is so important to me.”

Mr. Tubbs graduated from Gosnell High School, the son and grandson of public educators. His concern for the least of these in Two Rivers was palpable. “Vouchers cannot fix poverty. In fact, they will put our most vulnerable children in the crosshairs again.”

Sometimes this work feels like you’re in the crosshairs. Zelenskyy up against Putin, David versus Goliath. An honest but wimpy legislator told us the rich want vouchers and they are going to get them; there’s nothing he can do. I told him he could be one person to stand up and say no; it might give others courage. He said sorry. He’s too tired.

Our legislators may have given up on us, but we will not give up on our kids.

What can regular people do to stop a super-majority beholden to billionaires?

It’s what George Washington did when he faced the British Empire, even though the whole world thought it was impossible for America to win. He fought. As patriots, this is in our DNA. We will fight too.

Two Rivers is a model for all Arkansans. If they can muster the support and courage to stand up to government bullies, so can every community in this state. And we need you. Teachers are gathering again on the Capitol steps at 8 a.m. Tuesday. We’ll march together peacefully to the House Education Committee Meeting to share our stories, stand up for our students, and let our voices be heard.

Say no to vouchers for the rich, Arkansas. Stand with us.