Spotlights Archive

APSRC Add Two New Members to the Team

Jim Robb

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) is proud to announce the addition of two new members to the team – Jim Robb and Trevor Nix.

Jim Robb will join APSRC as the new Director of School Support in July 2022.

Prior to joining APSRC, Jim Robb served as the business manager and Chief Operations Officer for the West Memphis School District. Robb holds a Bachelor of Science in Education, an MSE in School Leadership and Digital Learning, is CASBO certified, and holds an Arkansas Teachers License. He has also served in the roles of Director of Technology and Grant Director.

“During my 22 years in Arkansas Education, I have specialized in creating and implementing innovative ways to simplify the process and management of all things school. My unique combination of skills have been applied in all areas of education with a particular focus on finance and technology. I look forward to partnering with APSRC member schools to discuss challenges and develop new, yet practical and efficient solutions,” Robb said.

In his free time, Robb enjoys spending time with his wife Karla and son Ty – the latest of which have been live-streaming Ty’s high school baseball games.

Trevor Nix

Trevor Nix will join APSRC as a Finance Specialist in July 2022.

Nix comes to APSRC with six years of public accounting experience. After graduating in 2016 from Ouachita Baptist University with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and Finance, he began his career as a Tax Staff with JPMS Cox in West Little Rock. In January of 2018, JPMS Cox merged with HoganTaylor LLP based out of Tulsa Oklahoma. In January 2020, he was named Tax Senior with HoganTaylor. Passing his final part of the CPA Exam in September of 2020, Trevor became certified by the Arkansas State Board of Public Accountancy as a Certified Public Accountant in January of 2021. He is both an active member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants as well as the Arkansas Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Outside of work, Trevor cherishes his time with his wife Beth and their two children Ellie and JT.

Dr. Bobbie Davis

It is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Dr. Bobbie Davis. On June 30, 2016, Dr. Bobbie Davis retired from her position as the Director of Finance Services for the Arkansas Public School Resource Center. Bobbie had an illustrious career spanning Arkansas education from the classroom to the Superintendency, to Adjunct Professor to serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Fiscal and Administrative Services for the Arkansas Department of Education, and joining Scott Smith in establishing APSRC.

The family will gather at Bob Neal Funeral Home in Brinkley Tuesday evening from 6 until 8 PM to visit with friends. Graveside services will be held at 11am Wednesday morning at the Hunter Cemetery with Dr. Robert Matthews officiating.

To view Dr. Bobbie Davis’ obituary or to leave a message for the family, visit https://www.bobnealandsons.com/obituary/dr-bobbie-davis?lud=CECE7A31047B7B902E2BD7C92724EF5D.

COVID-19 Guidance & Resources

The Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) is continually monitoring COVID-19 guidance issued by the Governor’s Office, the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH) and Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). In an effort to keep our members informed, we will continue to provide updates as new information becomes available.

COVID-19 Guidance & Resources

Remembering Jody Jenkins, Atkins School District Superintendent

Please join us in remembering Jody Jenkins, Atkins School District Superintendent, who passed today due to complications from COVID-19.

We send our deepest condolences to his friends, family and all who benefited from his passion for his students, his school district, and his community.

To read a post from the Atkins School District, please click here.

Meet Our Team: Jeana Williams, Interim Director of Teaching & Learning

Jeana Williams came to work for the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) in July 2017, and currently serves as the Interim Director of Teaching and Learning. Jeana and her team provide professional development and educational support for traditional and public charter schools.

Q: What led you to choose a career in education?

A: In my pre-Algebra class in junior high school, I realized that using letters in math equations made complete sense. I instantly understood the “why”. I also quickly realized that I was one of very few that grasped this concept, and I began helping my friends. I knew then, in the 7th grade, that I wanted to be a math teacher.

[Read more…]

APSRC Awarded Grant to Enroll High School Students in Swift Coding Program

The Arkansas Department of Education Division of Elementary and Secondary Education has provided the Arkansas Public School Resource Center (APSRC) with a grant to enroll up to 250 high school students in UPSKILL at A-State’s Swift Coding program for the 2020 fall semester at no cost to the student or the school.

“We are proud to partner with Arkansas State University, the Arkansas Department of Education and the Governor Asa Hutchinson’s office to provide this groundbreaking opportunity for students to earn K-12 credits and 9 hours of concurrent college credit, while at the same time working toward industry certification,” APSRC Executive Director Scott Smith said. “Through this grant, we are able to provide Arkansas schools with a valuable resource to enhance their curriculum and improve career-readiness for participating students.”

[Read more…]

APSRC partners with Edlio to offer affordable and unique school websites

The Arkansas Public School Resource Center is delighted to announce a partnership with Edlio that will give Arkansas schools the opportunity to create and customize affordable websites designed to foster parent and community engagement. You must be an APSRC member to be eligible for discounted pricing!

As an APSRC official partner, Edlio knows your school’s target market, stakeholders, and community. Websites are designed just for K-12 schools, and Edlio’s CMS is feature-rich, yet incredibly easy to use.

A few of the top school CMS features include:

Voice and text messaging
School news alerts and announcements
Customizable online forms with payments
ADA-friendly tools built right into your school CMS
Email subscriptions and newsletters
Easy to update class and teacher pages

For more information about Edlio’s services, please click here.

APSRC now accepting enrollment forms for Digital Learning Grant

APSRC is now accepting enrollment forms for the newly awarded Digital Learning grant. This competitive ADE grant will allow us to expand availability, efficiency and quality of digital learning at a decreased cost to schools.

It is our goal to provide quality digital courses to schools, empower students, and improve academic outcomes. Our focus will be on digital coursework designed for:

Remediation and credit recovery
shortage areas, foreign language and, career and technical education;
core; and
character education focusing on counselor resources.

We believe that digital courses can become a tool to address students who need a student-centered learning model where the content, method, and pace of learning are differentiated based on the student’s level of readiness. We believe digital learning has the potential to accelerate and deepen learning for all students. We believe we have established a model for digital learning delivery that meets the requirements for implementation state-wide based on our design that:

Creates a state-wide digital network providing better quality, better delivery, better access, better equity, and better educational opportunities;
Establishes a rigorous digital curriculum that is individually designed to meet student’s learning needs;
Provides resources to address increased digital coursework resulting in personalization of learning in geographically isolated regions of our state by expanding access;
Develops course designs, technology, and tutorial support that enables access for all students 24 hours a day 7 days a week while allowing a year to complete the course for credit; and
Implements a plan that provides support for educators as they transition to a personalized learning environment.
For more information on taking advantage of our digital learning courses through the availability of the grant, click here.

If you need further assistance, please contact Joie Ketcham at 501-492-4300 or jketcham@apsrc.net

This Month with Scott … An interview with Senator Jim Hendren

In the February edition of This Month with Scott … APSRC Executive Director Scott Smith interviews Senator Jim Hendren, who not only sits on the Senate Education Committee but also serves as the Arkansas Senate President pro tempore for the 92nd General Assembly. During the interview, Scott and Senator Hendren discuss several education-related bills currently wending their way through the legislative session.

U.S. Department of Education awards $23 million to APSRC

The Arkansas Public School Resource Center is pleased to announce that the U.S. Department of Education will award APSRC a $23 million-dollar grant that will go toward the accomplishment of three goals:

To increase the number of high-quality charter schools and conversion charter schools with an emphasis on those that serve educationally disadvantaged students
To improve student outcomes, particularly where educationally disadvantaged students are concerned
To disseminate best practices

APSRC will be responsible for allocating the funds to sub-grantee schools.

Arkansas last received the Charter Schools Program (CSP) grant in 2011.