Looking, thinking, moving ForwARd

“Effective leadership is modeled very well here in Pea Ridge,” Cory Biggs, associate director, ForwARd Arkansas, told community leaders Wednesday, Oct. 19, at a ceremony celebrating the recognition of Pea Ridge as one of five communities in the state recognized as a ForwARd community. “From the top to the bottom, there is a feeling of buying in and ownership of their public schools.”

“It will only work if we do it at the community level,” Biggs said to applause from the crowd of school, city and community representatives. “Arkansas can do more than just improve education. We can be number one within a generation. We can make a commitment.”

Mayor Jackie Crabtree said, “This is a great day. It’s quite a privilege for us to be named a ForwARd Community.”

School superintendent Rick Neal introduced members of the Bright Futures Advisory Committee, School Board members, city officials and Biggs.

Dr. Kenneth Jones, ForwARd Communities Strategist, addressed the group saying, “Congratulations, Pea Ridge … you’re one of five communities in the state where we’re beginning this process …

“It’s also a community based process. We know that schools and teachers cannot do it alone anymore. We need the parent community. We need the faithbased community. We need the business community. We need higher education.

“We need everybody involved

in creating the type of learning and teaching environment for all of our children so that when they leave high school they’re ready to make a choice and be successful at college and at a career and also we want to create situations where students don’t always have to leave the state ... they may want to stay right here in this community and contribute to the community. So, while we’re contributing to our students, they will be contributing to the community. We will be bringing together all of these parts of the community.

“We will be asking the question, what do you want your educational process in Pea Ridge to look like?”

Residents are invited to visit ForwardArkansas.org to learn more about the state of education in Arkansas and to use the online survey to share their thoughts on public education in Arkansas.

ForwARd Arkansas is a strategic partnership of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation, the Walton Family Foundation and Arkansas Board of Education.

TIMES photograph by Annette Beard Dr. Kenneth Jones commended Pea Ridge at a ceremony honoring the school and commity as one of five commnities in the state named a ForwARd Community. Students Jaylee Kelly, Stephanie Sanders, Kaiya Hook, Morgan Guyll, Lexi Garrett and Trevor Helton...