Arkansas

Arkansas school districts consider implementing new state cell phone, mental health program • Arkansas Advocate

Published

1 month ago

July 26, 2024

Arkansas school districts consider implementing new state cell phone, mental health program • Arkansas Advocate

More than 200 Arkansas school districts have expressed interest in a new pilot program to reduce cell phone access with the goal of improving students’ mental health, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.

In early July, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Education Secretary Jacob Oliva issued a letter to superintendents inviting them to participate in the program, which grew out of a meeting with school leaders in June centered on mental health.

As part of the pilot program, the University of Arkansas’ Office for Education Policy will examine how students’ mental health may be impacted by reduced access to cell phones and social media. A smaller group of districts from the pilot program will participate in the UA study.

Cell phone policies at Arkansas schools vary among districts and individual classrooms. While some teachers collect phones at the start of instructional time, others allow students to access their devices after completing assignments.

Bentonville West High School piloted a program last year that required cell phones to be silenced and stored during class. Bentonville School District Director of Communications Leslee Wright said the initiative was a “remarkable success,” with 86% of staff reporting a positive impact. Administrators also recorded a 57% reduction in verbal or physical aggression offenses and a 51% reduction in drug-related offenses, she said.

Bentonville High School is developing its own program modeled off the one implemented at Bentonville West, which will continue its program this fall, Wright said. Meanwhile, all middle and junior high schools in the district will participate in the state’s pilot program.

Arkansas governor, education secretary call on schools to join mental health pilot project

Additionally, the district has tracked computer screen time for two years “to identify some limitations, knowing that face-to-face instruction, activity and play are necessary for healthy development,” she said.

“We believe there’s significant value in reducing screen time for our students, whether on laptops or cell phones,” Wright said.

Arkansas’ pilot program will provide funding for phone storage devices to reduce screen time and social media use during the school day, according to a press release. More exposure to social media increases kids’ risk of mental health problems, Sanders and Oliva wrote in their letter.

More than 200,000 students could be affected by the program, ADE spokeswoman Kimberly Mundell said. Interested districts submitted information to ADE through their education cooperatives, and based on the initial estimate, ADE will request $8 million in appropriation, she said.

An initial small group of schools interested in the pilot “that were further down the road” in implementing cell policy changes will be reimbursed directly, Mundell said. The pilot was opened to all districts as interest grew, so those districts will be reimbursed through the co-ops, she said.

The program will also provide funding for telehealth mental health services, as well as support in locating mental health providers and navigating insurance matters, according to the release. All districts will have access to the telehealth services and the process for accessing the funds will be determined after a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) is completed, Mundell said.

Bethany Ratermann, senior director of communications for LISA Academy Public Charter Schools, said final funding amounts will determine the exact number of students who participate, but they would like to include 6-12th graders.

LISA Academy, which operates 11 schools on nine campuses across Arkansas, decided to implement the pilot as a way to prioritize students’ mental health as the charter organization works “to educate well rounded students as part of our updated LISA 2.0 program model,” Ratermann said.

Administrators hope to learn more about home usage through family feedback, and look forward to working with the U of A “to analyze this survey data and hope to arrive at conclusions that will benefit all students,” she said.

Let us know what you think…

The possibility of a reduction in issues with bullying, mental health and drugs, as well as interest from principals and the ability to purchase lockable devices for free were all reasons participating in the pilot program appealed to the DeQueen School District, Superintendent Jason Sanders said.

DeQueen’s school board on Monday approved participation in the pilot, which will be implemented at the middle school and junior high campuses. Students in 6-9th grade will receive YONDR pouches that will be magnetically locked while on campus, but parents can still see where their child is on apps like Live 360, Sanders said.

“Of course nothing is perfect, and we will have to work around some challenges such as Apple watches and dummy phones put in the pouches,” he said. “We also approved a policy for those campuses reflecting such.”

DeQueen’s previous policy required middle and junior high students to secure their phones on their person, backpack or locker during the instructional day. Sanders said he’ll be interested to compare the data on mental health referrals and discipline between school years with lockable devices and those without.

Research study

The effect of cell phones and social media on students’ mental health has become a hot topic, but there haven’t been many peer-reviewed studies on the issue, said Sarah McKenzie, executive director of the University of Arkansas’ Office for Education Policy.

Besides being a newer issue, another problem is “everything intersects, so it’s hard to find causal evidence about things,” McKenzie said.

“For all the talk about it, there hasn’t been any actual research, or much actual research about how this would impact kids,” she said. “It’s mostly been anecdotal.”

Protection of kids on social media platforms advances in U.S. Senate

McKenzie is working with Kristin Higgins, Department Head of Counseling, Leadership and Research Methods at the U of A, to develop a year-long study about the effects of the pilot program on students’ mental health. McKenzie said their research will involve focus groups with students, teachers and parents, and interviews with superintendents about the implementation of the pilot program.

Research will also include the administration of a short, general depression and anxiety screener to students in the fall and at the end of the academic year to see if there’s a reduction in feelings of unhappiness, she said.

“The idea is if they’re paying more attention in class and they’re feeling less anxious then they’re going to learn more,” she said.

Analyzing learning data won’t occur until after test scores are released later in 2025, McKenzie said. However, preliminary results from the initial surveys and focus groups should be available before the new year, providing a baseline prior to implementation of the pilot. The final report on student survey outcomes will likely be released next summer, she said.

Calls for more research on this topic are occurring at the national level. U.S. Sens. Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, and Tim Kaine, Democrat of Virginia, introduced legislation in November to require the U.S. Department of Education to “conduct a study regarding the use of mobile devices in elementary and secondary schools, and to establish a pilot program of awarding grants to enable certain schools to create a school environment free of mobile devices.”

The study in that bill, which was referred to committee, could take a long time to complete, McKenzie said.

“In the spirit of [the Office for Education Policy], our idea is to try to get the information to the people who need it as quickly as possible in the best way we can,” she said. “I imagine there will be a lot more studies, but this one should add to the knowledge that we have so far, which is actually not very much.”

Restriction considerations

At the Fayetteville School District, Assistant Superintendent of Teaching and Learning Courtney Morawski said the ongoing conversation around cell phones now is “how do we protect instructional time in a manageable way” while honoring new research that says there should be restrictions in place.

Arkansas NetChoice case differs from U.S. Supreme Court case, but both involve First Amendment

Fayetteville will implement the state pilot program (most likely in 7-12th grades) in the upcoming school year, “a transition year,” with the goal of having phone restrictions for the entire day for all K-12 students during the 2025-2026 academic year, Morwaski said.

The district received approval to spend $233,000 on storage devices through the state’s pilot program, but officials are still working through plan specifics, including what products to purchase, she said.

Because technology has become integrated into students’ daily lives, there’s much to consider in terms of implementing restrictions. Though educators want to be careful about how much time kids spend in front of a computer, learning often involves some screen time, Morawski said. But what students are being asked to do can be done on a Chromebook, which has protections phones don’t have, she said.

Cell phones can be vital for students monitoring health conditions like diabetes, so Morawski said they’re looking at devices with different locks for kids that need to access their phone regularly. Additionally, they’re working with health and special education staff to make sure they’re considering students who rely on their phones for specific needs.

“We absolutely acknowledge and understand that,” Morawski said. “We’d never want to put a student at risk.”

Phones have also become a way to communicate in active shooter situations, but Morawski said one company they’ve spoken with noted that limiting students’ ability to share misinformation can help officials track down facts about an emergency situation more quickly and safely. Limiting access to phones can also help students better focus on a teacher who’s trained to follow certain protocols during a crisis, she said.

Another possible upside to the program is the potential for a reduction in bullying.

“We do believe after talking to many other districts who have done this in other states that it lowers incidents of bullying drastically, and so we know that is something we want to work towards in all of our schools,” Morawski said. “We want students to feel safe and secure and we do think that this will be a step that will make a difference in their safety at school, but also offline hopefully or when they’re out of school.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Source link

Click to comment

Arkansas

Billy Moore, first All-America quarterback at Arkansas, dies at 84 | Whole Hog Sports

Published

9 hours ago

August 31, 2024

Press Room

Billy Moore, first All-America quarterback at Arkansas, dies at 84 | Whole Hog Sports

FAYETTEVILLE — Billy Moore, the University of Arkansas’ first All-American quarterback, passed away on Thursday in Little Rock at age 84.

Moore, a dual-threat quarterback and the starter from 1960-62, earned All-American honors from the Football Writers Association of America in 1962. The Little Rock native led the Southwest Conference in rushing that season with 585 yards, passed for 673 yards and scored a then school-record 14 touchdowns.

As a senior, Moore was a captain for a 9-2 Arkansas team that was ranked No. 6 nationally and lost to No. 3 Ole Miss 17-13 in the Sugar Bowl.

Moore, part of legendary Arkansas coach Frank Broyles’ first recruiting class for the Razorbacks, was inducted into the UA Sports Hall of Honor in 1996 and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame in 2014. The Razorbacks went 25-8 during Moore’s three seasons, won two Southwest Conference championships and played in the Sugar Bowl twice and the Cotton Bowl once.

“We’re going to miss Billy,” said Harold Horton, a former Arkansas player and assistant coach and Razorback Foundation administrator who was Moore’s teammate for three seasons. “He was the type of quarterback that won championships.

”We knew we’d been on the verge of losing him the last couple years, but he stood in there and fought it as long as he could.”

Ken Hatfield, the former Arkansas coach and standout safety and punt returner, was a sophomore when Moore was a senior.

“Billy was a heck of a Razorback and he was a great leader,” Hatfield said. “He played in the old days where you played both ways. He was the quarterback and also the starting free safety. He was one tough hombre, I’m telling you.”

Hatfield recalled that during Moore’s senior season, the coaching staff began calling plays on offense rather than leaving it to Moore because he was so unselfish.

“Back then the quarterback usually called the plays after meeting with the offensive coordinator and went over game situations. But when we got down close to the goal line, Billy was wanting to give the ball to the fullback or somebody else, even though he was the main reason we’d gotten the ball down there,” Hatfield said. “The coaches knew the best play was a call for Billy to carry the ball, but it just wasn’t in his makeup to call his own number. So they had to send in the plays for him to run the ball himself.”

Moore was back in the news 15 seasons ago when two of his Arkansas records went down in the same game during an offensive assault in the Hogs’ 63-27 win over Eastern Michigan in 2009 on Halloween night in Bobby Petrino’s second season as head coach.

In that game, Broderick Green had a 99-yard touchdown run to break Moore’s school record run, a 90-yard scoring run in a 42-14 win over Tulsa in 1962.

In the same game, quarterback Ryan Mallett completed 14 of 16 passes for 87.5% completions to surpass Moore’s 85.7% completions (12 of 14) in the same game against Tulsa in 1962.

Moore, speaking to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette a couple of days after that game in 2009, was in good spirits after having his records eclipsed and related a humorous story about the incident.

Moore, who attended most of the Razorback home games during that time, said he was watching the game that night with friends, including UA teammate Jim Mooty, at Pleasant Valley Country Club in Little Rock. He had stepped out for a couple of minutes and Green reeled off his 99-yard play during that time.

“I came back in and they said, ‘Billy, your name was just on TV,’ and I said, ‘For what?’ ” Moore told the Democrat-Gazette, laughing.

“They just broke your 90-yard record,” Mooty told his friend.

Moore’s long run against Tulsa came on a broken play, when Billy Joe Mooty had gone the wrong way.

Moore was very diplomatic about Green and Mallett taking down his marks.

“The boy deserves it,” Moore said of Green. “It was a great run. I never dreamed that (his 90-yard record) would last this long, to tell you the truth.”

Moore was also made aware that Green was also a Little Rock native.

“I congratulate the young man,” Moore told the Democrat-Gazette. “That means Little Rock boys have the longest run and the second-longest run. I saw a playback of it. Let me say this, his run was a lot prettier than mine.”

Also speaking in 2009, Jim Mooty discussed Moore’s impact for the Razorbacks, who lost only one regular-season game in 1062, Broyles’ fifth season at Arkansas.

“Billy has a way,” Mooty said. “Old No. 10. He didn’t have great speed, wasn’t the best passer, he just always got the job done.

Broyles also paid a tribute to Moore’s long run and his legacy as a Razorback.

“Billy had to change things around on his long run, and I think that will stay forever the longest run by a quarterback. And he deserves it because he’s the best runner we ever had for a quarterback.

“The other players loved him because he could perform. He didn’t just hand it off. He’d run and be just as tough as a fullback.”

Hatfield said Moore was the perfect quarterback to play for Broyles.

”When Billy came here, he was the ideal leader that Coach Broyles wanted,” Hatfield said. “He was tough as boot leather and he was a team man. He had played for Coach (Wilson) Matthews at Little Rock Central. So he’d been in a lot of big games in high school.

“Billy was fun to be around. He was jovial, he’d cut up, but the boy could play football, I’m telling you.”

After his football days, Moore became the first manager of Shakey’s Pizza Parlor in the Riverdale area of Little Rock, and also worked in oil, gas and insurance before operating a billboard company prior to his retirement.

“Billy was a good man, and a great Razorback,” Hatfield said. “He’ll be missed, but I guarantee you he’ll be remembered by the Razorback fans.”

Source link

Arkansas

Arkansas officials plan immediate bed expansions while they await new prison • Arkansas Advocate

Published

20 hours ago

August 30, 2024

Press Room

Arkansas officials plan immediate bed expansions while they await new prison • Arkansas Advocate

In an attempt to relieve pressure from crowded county jails while the completion of a new 3,000-bed prison facility remains in the distant future, the Arkansas Department of Corrections and Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders have turned their focus to immediate expansions.

“We have roughly [a] 16,000-prison-bed capacity and we have north of 17,000 people that need to occupy that space,” Sanders told the Advocate Tuesday. “So it’s very clear that you don’t have to be great at math to know those numbers don’t add up, and so looking for every opportunity we can to expand capacity and crack down, make sure that violent repeat offenders aren’t back on the street.”

According to a Friday report to the prison board, more than 2,100 state inmates were being held in county jails, Division of Correction Director Dexter Payne said.

Officials started moving inmates into a vacant Tucker Unit work release facility earlier this month, and recently completed the transfer of 124 people, all of whom are either assigned to a work-release program or require minimum security.

The expansion at the Tucker Unit in Jefferson County was a project proposed by former Corrections Secretary Joe Profiri, who was fired from his corrections position and then hired as a senior adviser to Sanders. Profiri’s pursuit to quickly add more beds amidst staffing shortages caused issues among Board of Corrections members, primarily with Chairman Benny Magness.

Profiri was not mentioned during Friday’s discussion.

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX

Nearly 325 additional beds are planned in three other state correctional facilities in Batesville, Texarkana and Newport. Department Secretary Lindsay Wallace said the projects were moving toward completion and should be finalized in mid-October.

The 3,000-bed prison, which Sanders announced last March, is still in the preliminary phase. According to a recent press release from the department, officials are working alongside Sanders’ office in the selection of an “owner’s representative,” who will provide design, engineering and construction advice for the new prison.

When board member William Byers asked about the new prison Friday — which Wallace referred to as the “big elephant in the room” — Wallace assured members that selecting the owner’s representative would “really be the trigger that really pushes [us] forward.”

The land for the new prison has not been selected, Wallace said.

Counsel contract

Though not on the agenda for Friday’s meeting, board member Lee Watson asked his colleagues to consider rescinding a previous procurement document related to attorney Abtin Mehdizadegan. He said rescinding the document would clarify that the board’s engagement letter with the attorney from December remains in full effect.

Arkansas’ prison board in March announced it would investigate when and how changes were made to a legal contract without the knowledge of state procurement officials. In the months that followed, lawmakers criticized members of the board for being unaware of their altered contract and took issue with the lack of a formal bid process for the contract.

UPDATED: Arkansas lawmakers approve audit into Corrections Board’s hiring of outside counsel

Lawmakers in June authorized the state’s independent auditing agency to conduct an audit of the correction board’s hiring of Mehdizadegan as outside counsel.

The board rejected Watson’s motion to immediately take action on the procurement documents. Board member Lona McCastlain said she didn’t “see what the hurry [was]” and wanted to have enough time to fully look over any related documents.

Watson said he received an agreement letter from Mehdizadegan Thursday evening, which he said was why the board didn’t have much time to review it. McCastlain said that type of quick work is “exactly why we’re here. Because we don’t look at it.”

The agreement will be taken up at the Board of Correction’s in-person meeting next month.

Other business

Board members at the start of Friday’s meeting met in executive session for more than four hours to conduct interviews for an “executive assistant to the director.” When they returned from meeting in private, Magness announced the board approved the hire of Effie Murphy.

According to the online job description, minimum qualifications for the position include a bachelor’s degree in a related field, two years of experience in program administration or a related field, and one year in a supervisory capacity. Job functions include scheduling meetings, preparing agendas, and maintaining various records.

The Board of Corrections in July announced they received 26 applications for a public information officer position, but decided to amend the job description and repost it. Currently, at least three PIO-related positions are listed on the department’s career webpage.

The interviews board members conducted Friday were not for the PIO position, though Magness said Murphy would help Shari Gray, an assistant to the board who has taken on many communications-related tasks since their previous employee retired.

Magness said in July he was looking for a “true public relations person” who would share more positive news about the agency.

Antoinette Grajeda contributed to this report.

Source link

Arkansas

Why are Arkansas maternal mortality rates so high?

Published

1 day ago

August 30, 2024

Press Room

Why are Arkansas maternal mortality rates so high? – CBS News

Watch CBS News

An alarming number of women are dying from pregnancy-related complications in Arkansas, according to Kaiser Family Foundation data. Annie Gowen, a national correspondent for the Washington Post, has more on why this is occurring in the state.