Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Huckabee touts Next Step Program in Gurdon

Gurdon was buzzing Tuesday as Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee flew into town in the Arkansas State Police helicopter.

Huckabee was greeted at Gurdon High School by the student council. He shuck hands with each of them and asked their names.

Also on hand during the arrival were Gurdon Mayor Clayton Franklin and State Representative Tommy Roebuck.

Huckabee was escorted to the GHS gym where he was welcomed by all the primary, middle and high school students, along with the faculty and several guests.

Huckabee was introduced and welcomed by student council president Eddie Fort.

Huckabee talked about the importance of music in education and the positive effects music has had on his own life.

"I was given my first electric guitar when I was 10-years-old. It wasn't anything special, but I played until my fingers almost bled," he said.

"Children who learn music tend to learn faster, because music teaches them to learn."

Huckabee ended his program by presenting the Governor's Music Medallion to Bradley Weems, a senior at GHS. This was the first time a Gurdon student has ever been presented with this honor.

Huckabee was escorted to the Cabe Student Center where the student council had prepared punch and cookies.

After refreshments, he met with Gurdon teachers, where he explained the new Next Step program the state is hoping to start.

Huckabee said, "Almost 70 percent of state tax dollars are spent on education."

Next Step is a proposal to not only advance existing reforms, but also make additional changes. Plans for the reforms are to bring in concrete results.

Huckabee said the reforms have already moved public education forward.

The Next Step program is still being prepared for the 2003 Legislative session, however, Huckabee gave everyone a blueprint of the proposal.

The first thing that will be started on is professional staff accountability and compensation.

This includes rewards for all certified staff (inclusive of teachers, specialized staff and administrators) with annual salary increases based on specified accountability measures appropriate for their duty areas.

It will also employ and appropriate and timely measures for certified staffs who do not meet accountability criteria.

It calls for a revision of the Teacher Fair Dismissal Act to provide proper balance between protection of academic freedom and academic performance of students; offering stipends and incentives for teachers; establishing professional development requirements for teacher educators; increasing accountability for retention and graduation of students; reorganizing state scholarships as loan/scholarship funds in which failure to graduate in six years will deem in a loan; expanding the alternative compensation programs for teachers; and promoting the awareness of the School Workers Defense Program.

Academic standards, curriculum and teaching methods are the next on the agenda for changes starting with restructuring the current Arkansas testing system to include annual spring testing; monitoring schools more closely to assure consistency in what is taught and what is mandated within the state standards; continue and expand the PATHWISE teacher preparation program by creating a network of educators; expedite and expand the process of the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing Assessment and Accountability Program; require schools to set consequences for individual student accountability in testing; increase the course requirements for all high school graduates to demonstrate a level of rigor throughout the entire high school experience; expand opportunities for local colleges to offer concurrent credit in the high schools with goal; establish higher entry criteria for four-year colleges and universities; offer remedial courses through the two-year colleges only; and align the curricula for high school courses, two year colleges and four year universities.

In communicating results to all stakeholders, it will expand the Arkansas School Report Card system, which assures parents, business patrons, and educators receive current comparison information across the state, as well as school and district to district comparison.

The idea is to also improve the communication and understanding of needed course requirements for high school students to graduate and enter post-secondary schools.

Huckabee also wants to broaden the state's charter school law: increase the methods which enhance school choice alternatives for parents and students.

Under financial reporting, the idea is to implement a user friendly standardized accounting system for all school districts, which is easily understood by constituents.

To improve pre-school and health care access for children, Next Step plans to implement expanded educational opportunities for pre-school including emphasis for reading, and access to health and dental care.

It also calls for inclusion and expansion of broad-based opportunities for students in the arts. To do this, plans are to develop and implement a statewide strategy to assure students of opportunities to become proficient in music, the visual arts, theater, or other fine arts.

The plan also calls for developing partnerships between business, industry, post-secondary schools, workforce education, and public schools by expanding courses at the high school level that would enable students to develop workforce skills needed in today's technological environment.

For more information on The Next Step program log on to www.state.ar.us/governor/pdf/nextstep.pdf.