Secretary of State Releases 2008 Election Schedule
Click here to find the election deadlines for school board members for the 2008 schedule.

Register now for Joint Leadership Conference

The 14th Annual Joint Leadership Conference sponsored by the Arkansas School Boards Association and the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators will be held in Little Rock on May 13. The conference features updates on categorical funds, how to budget them, which student needs to target and how to maximize the impact of these funds. With ever-growing accountability at the state and federal levels, school boards and superintendents must make sound decisions related to academics, facilities and finance. Speakers at this year’s Joint Conference will focus on two of those three areas – academics and finance. Education Commissioner Ken James will be one of this year’s presenters. (Download the Agenda (PDF)) Please note that this year’s Joint Conference will be held in a new location – The Embassy Suites Hotel in Little Rock. Please click here for a registration form (MSWord) (PDF).

Brainstorm! provides learning insights

About 150 school board members, superintendents and educators attended the March 20 Brainstorm! seminar hosted by ASBA. The event featured Dr. Pat Wolfe, who presented on how the brain makes connections and related it to student learning, and David Warlick, who updated attendees on technology advances and how to incorporate technology into education to keep students interested.

“Our job is not to help kids do well in school; it’s to help them do well in life,” noted Dr. Wolfe, an educator and author. She described how the brain functions using electrical and chemical connections and shared illustrations of brain activity during different activities. She said that the more often the brain uses the same connections, the more automatic that reaction becomes. The brain seeks to fit every encounter with existing knowledge or connections; if it can’t make a connection, the information is dropped. That is why rote memorization does not generally provide students with lasting knowledge. (read more...)

Report Card- ASBA's Newest Publication
Download the inaugural edition (PDF). The Reporter did a pretty good job telling members about training opportunities and seminars, but it didn’t offer enough space for us to provide in-depth coverage of education issues that are important to school board members. A good example is this issue’s cover story about how schools are using technology to reach today’s media-saturated, technology-driven students.

ASBA Adds Communications Director
ASBA is pleased to welcome Suellen Vann as ASBA’s new Communications Director. She had been Public Relations Leader for Acxiom Corporation and for 10 years prior to that position, she served as Director of Communications for the Little Rock School District. In the position, Suellen will work closely with all facets of the association.

She brings a rich variety of experiences to the position, including work in both radio and television. She earned her B.A. Degree in Journalism from Memphis State University and her M.B.A. Degree from Texas A&M University.

“We are very fortunate to have Suellen join our staff,” according to ASBA Executive Director Dan Farley. “She is a consummate professional with great skills and enormous energy and enthusiasm. ASBA will greatly benefit from this most recent addition to our staff.”

Suellen is nationally accredited in public relations. She is a member of the Public Relations Society of America, Arkansas Chapter, where she served as chair and co-chair of its accreditation program for four years. She also served on the PRSA Board of Directors. She is a long-time member of the Arkansas Chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (ArkaNSPRA), having served numerous times as president, vice president, and secretary-treasurer.

She and her husband Steve have two children, Chris and Lindsay, who both attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.

Risk Management Program Now Offers Builders Risk Coverage
ASBA RMP members can seek quotes for new and ongoing construction projects. Call Shannon Moore for a quote today at (800) 482-1212.

Arkansas School Superintendent Positions (updated 4/21/08)
There are many open positions for Superintendent from all parts of the state. Click here to find out more.

ASBA Online Courses Now Available for School Board Members - FREE!
The three two-part online courses available from ASBA were developed originally by ASBA and hosted on the National School Boards Association’s Online Learning Center (OLC). The OLC stopped operations last fall and ASBA searched for a way to host the courses locally.

Early in December, the Arkansas Educational Telecommunications Network (AETN), in partnership with ASBA and the Arkansas Department of Education, has made them available on AETN’s website. The courses are NOT found in AETN’s Professional Development Portal. There is no cost to take the courses. Each part of each course is six hours. Because of the nature of the courses, ASBA expects the responses on the final exams to be thoughtful and reflective. One- or two-sentence responses will not be sufficient. Each course, satisfactorily completed, will provide six hours—based on our assumption that six hours would be the minimum time necessary to read and reflect.

The courses currently being offered are:

• Creating Successful Change Strategies
• Designing and Creating Successful Community Partnerships
• Tools for Reaching Consensus With Your Board

Access the courses here.

School Board Members and School Administrators - Save These Dates!

So you want to be a school board member?
Check here to find information to get you started.

Connect Directly to the Risk Management Program
The ASBA- Risk Management Program has a new fax number: (501) 687-0225. Report a claim, update your coverage or request a bid at the new fax number.

New Forms Available for Risk Management Program Members
Property and vehicle loss notices and property and vehicle change forms are now available for download in Adobe Reader (PDF) format. These fill-in forms can be saved to use as an email attachment or printed and faxed back to the Risk Management Program.

Federal Automated Recovery Systems (FARS)
FARS was formed as a way to help educational institutions and organizations that accept checks to successfully recover those checks that are returned non-sufficient funds (NSF) or otherwise dishonored. Protect every bank account within the district. Find out more about FARS and how to get involved at no cost to your district.

Handbook for Arkansas School Board Members
This handbook is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part for education purposes is granted. Download the electronic version in Adobe Reader format here.

State-Mandated School Board Training Requirements
What is the new law all about? When does it go into effect? Will I lose my ASBA Boardmanship credit? Download the actual language of ACT 1775. These questions and more are answered here in our handout.

Code of Ethics for Arkansas School Board Members
As a member of the board I shall promote the best interests of the school district as a whole, and to that end I shall adhere to the following educational and ethical standards. Find out more here.