University of Arkansas annnounces $10M Walton grant for training teachers in high-poverty schools

The University of Arkansas issued a news release this morning confirming a project I mentioned yesterday morning — a Walton Family Foundation grant to work with teachers in high-poverty schools.

The release says the foundation will spend $10.2 million over three years on the Arkansas Academy for Educational Equity. The project will be headed by education professors Tom Smith and Gary Ritter. I reported earlier they'd been meeting with Little Rock School Superintendent Michael Poore about the special needs for teachers in a high poverty urban district like Little Rock. The news release said the program will be for low-income schools across the state.

Smith and Ritter will hire about a dozen people who will provide training over the summer and mentoring during the school year to 150 to 200 licensed, early career teachers. They will target teachers who've been effective and who want to improve their work.

The idea was inspired by federal legislation that encouraged teacher training apart from traditional licensure programs, the release said.

Read more: https://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2017/12/06/university-of-arkansas-annnounces-10-million-walton-grant-for-training-urban-teachers