APSRC Advantage

ADVANTAGEARKANSAS PUBLIC SCHOOL RESOURCE CENTER

MARCH/APRIL 2009

page 6WHO IS APSRC?

Arkansas Public School Resource Center

Victory Building1401 West Capitol, Suite 435

Little Rock, AR 72201Telephone: 501-492-4300

Fax: 501-492-4305

www.apsrc.net

Scott SmithExecutive [email protected]

Bobbie DavisFinance Services Director

[email protected]

Harry Dickens Technology [email protected]

Patsy HammondFinancial Analyst

[email protected]

Beth McCullough Communications Director

[email protected]

Lisa WaltersOffice Manager

[email protected]

CONTENTS

2| March/April 2009 | ADVANTAGE

COVER STORY6 Who is APSRC?

Discover the story behind the Arkansas Public School Resource Center and learn how it can benefit your school on everything from finance to technology.

4 Director’s ReportA letter from APSRC Executive Director Scott Smith.

11 Finance FirstAPSRC Finance Services Director Bobbie Davis deciphers what you need to know about the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS

MARCHMarch 12 - Rural Advisory Board Meeting March 20 - Quarterly Report for Open-Enrollment Charters due March 16 - State Board of Education Meeting March 21 - Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter School Open House March 24 - Jacksonville Lighthouse Ground Breaking at noonMarch 31 - ACSIP amendments due March 31 - Last date to submit Federal Notice of Funds Transfer March 31 - APSRC Policy Board Meeting

APRILApril 1 - Preventative Maintenance and Status Report due April 1 - Title I Quarterly Report of Cash Distribution due April 10 - ADE and AAEA stimulus meeting at 10 a.m. April 10 - Child Nutrition Claim for March Reimbursement due April 13 - State Board of Education Meeting

ADVANTAGE| March/April 2009 | 3

DIRECTOR’S REPORT

APSRC offers first-rate education expertiseScott Smith, Executive Director

The Advantage was created

to serve as a supplement

to the APSRC Web site -

www.apsrc.net - and will

provide our members with

the information, news and

strategies they need to

survive and thrive in the

ever-changing world of

education.

This inaugural edition of

the Advantage serves as an

introduction to APSRC and

is available to the public as

a guide to understanding

what the Arkansas Public

School Resource Center is

all about.

Future editions will only

be available only to our

members and will contain

much more detailed

information about issues

on everything education-

Welcome to the Arkansas Public School Resource Center’s first edition of its bimonthly newsletter, the Advantage. The Advantage strives to give you just that - an advantage in your policies and practices.


Director’s Report page 13

NEWSTop ten list

Education Week ranked Arkansas

tenth in the nation based on education

policies and student success. The state

earned a 79.6 - a B minus - and was

only five points behind top-ranking

Maryland.

States were scored on six categories:

chance for success; transitions and

alignment; school finance; K-12

achievement; standards, assessments

and accountability; and teaching

profession.

Members onlyThe Member Services section of the APSRC

Web site is now officially members only.

Join today to get your member login and start

enjoying all the benefits of being an APSRC

member!

Welcome wagonAPSRC hired three new staff members in

February. Join us in welcoming Harry Dickens

as the new technology

specialist; Patsy Hammond

as the new financial analyst

and Beth McCullough as

the new communications

director. ADVANTAGE| March/April 2009 | 5

WHO IS APSRC?

The Arkansas Public School Resource Center

is a unique, non-profit organization dedicated to

providing technical support to and advocating on

behalf of Arkansas’s open-enrollment public charter

schools and traditional public schools in rural areas.

APSRC is the only education organization in the state

– and the nation! – that caters specifically to charter

school and rural school districts. As such, APSRC

is the primary resource and representative voice of

Arkansas’s charter schools and rural districts.

APSRC strives to increase the number of high-

quality school options; increase the effectiveness

and efficiency of charter and rural schools and create

a more positive image and complete perception of

charter and rural schools among policymakers and

the general public.

Membership in APSRC entitles schools, districts,

educational cooperatives and other organizations

to specialized content, tools, guidance and support


as well as specific technical assistance in

the areas of law, finance, technology and

teaching and learning.

APSRC also provides members with

professional development training and the

most up-to-date education information on

everything from best practices to policy

decisions.

WHAT MAKES APSRC SCHOOLS DIFFERENT?It all comes down to quality. We expect our

members to provide the highest caliber of

education, and we give them the resources

and support to do just that.

To become a member, your school must

commit to the APSRC Values that reflect

both what the organization expects of

itself – through the services provided to

members and the advocacy conducted on

their behalf – and expects of the public

schools and districts serving the children

of Arkansas.

APSRC expects its member schools to

exemplify eight core values:

Quality – agree to a statement of quality

principles and strive constantly to increase

student achievement and narrow the

achievement gap

Support the improvement of public education by providing technical support and advocacy services on behalf of public schools with a special emphasis on charter schools and rural districts.

APSRC mission


Collaboration – Work closely with APSRC,

complementary organizations and other member schools

and districts to ensure that all students are successful

Integrity – Ensure public trust and credibility by operating

with respect, consideration, transparency and honesty

Choice – Acknowledge and promote the fact that students

and their families have or should have a choice in their

education provider and offer services that address the

various needs of students and families

Sustainability – Foster and maintain a focus that seeds to

add recognizable and quantifiable value to students and

their families

Accountability – Measure and report impact and progress

using clear metrics and hold staff responsible for meeting

benchmarks

Innovation – Promote and support promising new ideas

and approaches

Diversity – Identify, recruit and retain high-quality

educators representing the backgrounds of the students

they serve and promote a variety of school options for

students and their families

Why become a member of

APSRC?


MEMBERSHIP BENEFITSAPSRC membership acknowledges that your school is committed to quality and provides a

tangible means to display your school’s quality to important stakeholders. Because of their

steadfast commitment to continuous improvement, APSRC schools are truly in a league

of their own. How do we ensure schools stay on the right track and give our members the

recognition they deserve? By providing them with the tools for success!

APSRC advocates on behalf of its members and also provides specific technical assistance

and support. In general, APSRC plans to focus its member services on three main areas:

advocacy, communications and technical assistance.

Why become a member of

APSRC?

NETWORKING... because knowing your peers is knowing you’re part of something- Annual APSRC Conference

RESOURCES... because why go searching for the answers when they’re right here- Online Member Services section- Access to technical support team

RECOGNITION... because quality schools should be applauded and given the tools to become ever better- Schools united under the APSRC Values

ADVOCACY... because a strong voice in Little Rock is a strong future for your school- Expert advocacy team steps away from the Capitol


AdvocacyAPSRC advocates on behalf of its members

in support of policies that increase the

number of high-quality charter schools;

promote a more efficient and effective

funding formula for all schools; promote

funding for charter-school facilities;

strengthen the ability of schools to monitor

and manage their academic effectiveness;

strengthen schools’ control over their own

financial, educational and operational

decision making; improve access by all

parents and students – especially those

locked in low-performing schools – to

high-quality public school choices and

education resources and improve accuracy,

accessibility and quality of information

about charter and rural schools available to

opinion leaders and the general public.

APSRC attends all House and Senate

Education Committee meetings as well

as regularly schedules meetings with

legislators to advocate on behalf of charter

and rural schools in Arkansas.

CommunicationsAPSRC strives to increase educators’

access to policy information and best

practices as well as increase the public’s

understanding of and support for open-

enrollment charter schools and rural school

districts. Membership in APSRC includes

a daily-updated Web site with information

and resources as well as a bimonthly

magazine – the APSRC Advantage. APSRC

is also planning an annual conference that

members could attend at a significant

discount.

Technical AssistanceAPSRC provides technical assistance to its

members in the areas of new charter school

development; teaching and learning;

finance; technology and law. The Members

Only section of the APSRC Web site

contains a plethora of information on these

topics, and APSRC also employs a full-

time staff that is skilled in these areas ready

to assist you and your school. APSRC

can help you with everything from legal

questions to COGNOS to understanding

stimulus spending requirements.



FINANCEFIRST

APSRC staff researchs ARRA education stimulus moneyDr. Bobbie Davis, Finance Services Director

Financial services are

provided by Dr. Bobbie

Davis and Patsy Hammond,

and over the next few weeks,

financial services staff of

APSRC will be focusing on

the American Recovery and

Reinvestment Act (ARRA)

and on assisting districts/

charters on how to efficiently

and effectively implement

the use of these funds.

Of the $787 billion ARRA

package, $105 billion goes to

education-related programs.

To learn the rules and

regulations tied to this

money and how your school

can spend it, visit the APSRC

Web site for our research.

Dr. Davis can be reached

at [email protected].

Hammond can be reached at

[email protected].

At APSRC, financial services include analyzing a school’s use of federal and NSLA funds, ACSIP budgets, financial reporting, federal and state audit issues, as well as purchasing and bidding procedures.

Give Me Five! – The Kennesaw Charter School in Kennesaw, Michigan houses more than 500 students in kindergarten through fifth grade and has developed an innovative way of getting and keeping their students’ attention.

Anytime a classroom, hallway, lunchroom or the gym becomes a bit too noisy, someone will raise their hand and put up five fingers. Quickly, the room becomes silent. What’s the trick? It’s a school-wide discipline and character building plan based on five basic rules:

1. Eyes are watching2. Ears are listening

3. Lips are closed4. Hands are still5. Feet are quiet

Principal Mridula Hormes said the “Give Me Five!” program has helped improve the quality of what was already a dynamic, high-performing school of more than 500 students.

“I wanted to have a discipline piece in place,” she said. “Once you have discipline, you can accomplish anything.”

Best Practice

PHOTOS

March 10, 2009 - The APSRC Rural School Advisory Board meets with Representative Monty Betts and House Education Committee Chair Bill Abernathy.

March 24, 2009 - Jacksonville Lighthouse Charter breaks ground on its new location at North First and Willow Streets in Jacksonville.



related from technology to finance to

teaching and learning.

For the past six months, APSRC has

been putting together a top-notch

team to provide our members the

best services possible. In addition

to the wealth of information online,

APSRC provides our members

with a range of one-on-one training

through professional development

and technical assistance.

APSRC can help your school or

organization with school board

training; bookkeeping; financial or

academic accountability; technology

integration; COGNOS reporting;

ethics and FOI laws and Internet

communications as well as with a wide

spectrum of additional legal, financial

technology, communications or

teaching and learning issues.

APSRC employs the best Arkansas

has to offer and serves as a

resounding voice for charter schools

and rural school districts in our state.

Our team has been at the Capitol

everyday actively participating in

the legislative process to advocate

on your behalf. Look for the May/

June 2009 issue of the Advantage for

a complete recap of the 87th General

Assembly including how the new

education laws affect your school or

district.

If you’re currently a member of

APSRC, I welcome you again and

thank you for providing us the

opportunity to serve your school. I

encourage you to take advantage of

everything we have to offer.

If you’re not currently a member,

please enjoy this issue of the

Advantage and discover how we can

provide you with the some of the

best education services this state has

to offer.

Director’s Report from page 4

Scott Smith is a licensed attorney and the Executive Director of the Arkansas Public School Resource Center.

He can be reached at [email protected] or 501-492-4300.

www.apsrc.net

APSRC Advantage

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