More than a half million Arkansas kids are back at school for the fall, and districts across the state face different challenges.

For some in rural Arkansas, it means ballooning class sizes and a hunt for more teachers and classroom space.

Jon Laffoon, superintendent of the Farmington School District, said some districts are losing students, but in rural Northwest Arkansas, they have seen an uptick of well over 130 students this year as more families choose to move into his district. Farmington's five public schools now serve more than 2,500 children.

"Our biggest challenge is going up 300 or 400 kids in my three years here," Laffoon explained. "Our biggest challenge is making sure that we have adequate classroom space, and making sure that we are able to plan for the future and plan for that growth."

Laffoon added school districts across the state are seeing the effects of the teacher shortage. They are having difficulty recruiting teachers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math, which means more students are missing out on those opportunities.

The LEARNS Act passed by the Arkansas Legislature went into effect this month. It includes a variety of provisions, from increased security measures to improving teacher pay, and introducing controversial school vouchers.

Laffoon noted some Arkansans believe it was rushed through, leaving students and educators to face the consequences. But he thinks the bill's focus on literacy and making pre-Kindergarten a priority is a plus.

"I've talked to the commissioner and told them this, they still need to find a way to fund pre-K for our districts, because that's the barrier that's keeping more districts from having pre-K early education," Laffoon emphasized. "When you have pre-K, data shows that you're going to increase school readiness, language and literacy. And so, if we want to really improve literacy, to me, that's the hump we've got to get over, is access to pre-K."

Dennis Copeland, assistant director of the Arkansas Rural Education Association, said his group supports and advocates for public education, with 213 school districts and 15 of the educational service co-ops as members. The group provides $24,000 in scholarships each year to member school districts, including some funding for teacher education.

"We have two vocational scholarships that are $1,000 each for two years, and then, we have two paraprofessional scholarships, $1,000 each for two years," Copeland outlined. "We try to encourage those folks that are there at school that are paraprofessionals to go back and finish up, hopefully get hired there by that school district that they're working for currently."

He added smaller, rural districts are working to "grow their own" teaching staffs, and recruiting more college students to pursue education majors. He noted the minimum starting salary for a teacher in Arkansas is $50,000.


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Student loan forgiveness took center stage on Thursday at the American Federation of Teachers conference.

The Biden administration has canceled more than $62 billion in federal student debt for more than 871,000 public service workers nationwide, including teachers.

Presidential candidate Kamala Harris spoke at the conference, thanking educators for their work for children's well-being. She told them the administration sees a "future with affordable health care, affordable child care, and paid leave - not for some, but for all."

"We see a future where every student has the support and the resources they need to thrive, and a future where no teacher has to struggle with the burden of student loan debt," she said. "So, as an example, our administration has forgiven student loan debt for nearly 5 million Americans."

She pointed out that federal student debt relief plans, including the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, face potential threats from legal challenges and some resistance from Republicans in Congress.

A Pennsylvania recipient of student loan forgiveness introduced Vice President Harris. Brittany Shoup, a member of Pittsburgh Federation of Teachers Local 400, is a special-education teacher in the Pittsburgh Public Schools. Shoup said she had heard about the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, but most people who applied for it didn't receive it during the last administration.

"The Biden/Harris administration fixed PSLF and made the process easy," she said. "So I applied and later had my student loans forgiven. This is a huge weight off my shoulders. And now, I help my fellow teachers get the debt forgiveness they deserve."

The AFT conference wrapped up Thursday in Houston, with more than 3,500 educators in attendance.


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As summer winds down and North Carolina students prepare to return to school, the focus shifts to the urgent need for better public education funding.

The future of North Carolina school funding may hinge on Leandro v. North Carolina a decadeslong court battle about the financial challenges many districts face.

Matthew Ellinwood, director of the Education and Law Project at the North Carolina Justice Center, stressed the crucial role of state funding in ensuring a quality education for every child.

"We're waiting to see what the decision will be for that but there's a lot at stake for families who are feeling these lack of resources in their schools locally," Ellinwood observed. "People need to understand the huge role that the state plays in funding our schools locally, because of what our Constitution said and the rights that it provides to families."

In recent years, the court developed the Leandro Plan, a comprehensive strategy to ensure the state meets students' constitutional rights to education, from early childhood education to college and career transitions. Earlier this year, the state court reheard the case, which could determine the state's obligations but there has been no ruling yet.

North Carolina ranks 49th in the U.S. for school funding, with 92% of students in underfunded districts. Ellinwood noted the Leandro Plan aims to bridge these gaps.

"To deal with the shortages that we're seeing in teachers across the state and the number of teachers who are leaving the profession," Ellinwood explained. "And get back the nationally recommended ratios for nurses, counselors and therapists. It's something that a lot of families are seeing are not in place in their school for their health and mental health needs."

Ellinwood predicted the plan would also help address the child care crisis in the state. He explained rising costs and the end of federal pandemic funds have worsened challenges for child care centers and schools, leading to closures.

"I think the state is doing some kind of Band-Aid to try to keep the system going but we really need a significant investment there and that is laid out in the Leandro Plan," Ellinwood emphasized. "In a really, again, comprehensive way, we need funding through different wages for the quality measures, to ensure that those are met and continue to be high quality."

State lawmakers have approved a $68 million emergency fund for child care. Despite it, the state Department of Health and Human Services warned of more closures this fall without more support.


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Some Illinois educators made their way to Texas this week for an American Federation of Teachers convention. AFT is one of the nation's largest labor unions for educators and school personnel, with nearly two-million members - including more than 100,000 in Illinois.

The organization promotes democracy, economic opportunity and quality public education. Earlier this week, AFT President Randi Weingarten spoke to attendees in Houston on the impact of public schools in Illinois and nationwide.

"Public schools are essential to our children's future and to our democracy. Every public school should be a place where families want to send their children, educators want to work, and all students thrive," said Weingarten.

Vice President Kamala Harris is scheduled to give today's keynote speech at the convention.

Illinois Federation of Teachers President Dan Montgomery echoes the union's reaction to President Joe Biden's announcement not to seek re-election. He expressed his gratitude for what he called Biden's "unwavering dedication" to the American people, including investments in public education.

The IFT also supports some issues unrelated to education. These include defending reproductive health and improving healthcare access, and fostering an economy that uplifts the middle class. Another battle many educators face is evolving technology aimed at youth. Weingarten called on social media giants to operate more responsibly.

"We're fighting back against the addictive and predatory practices of social media companies, demanding that they protect - not prey on - children, and we're focusing on artificial intelligence. AI can be a powerful tool, but there must be strong guardrails," she said.

According to the Illinois State Board of Education, there are 867 districts and nearly 3,900 public schools in the state, with an 88% graduation rate. The average annual teacher salary is $75,000.