Arkansas should commit to serving at least all low-income preschoolers. The 2021 State of Preschool Yearbook, released by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) at the Rutgers Graduate School of Education, provides an in-depth look at state-funded...
The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Reauthorization Act of 2014 requires state-led child care agencies to submit a plan every three years that outlines their state child care policies and plans for using their Child Care and...
We know that every parent, guardian and community member can be a powerful force in promoting an equal opportunity to learn in Arkansas, and we have an incredible opportunity to shape a huge investment in our K-12 education system...
Kasey Porchia comes from a family of educators. Her mother, father, and aunts were teachers, coaches, and paraprofessionals who had a profound effect on why she chose education as her profession. They instilled in her a strong work ethic and...
Linda is 72 years old. She doesn’t work anymore, and she takes care of her 54-year-old son who lives with her and is fully disabled. He has special dietary needs and needs around-the-clock care. Even before the pandemic, money...
Tomiko Townley currently serves as the Advocacy Director for the Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance. The Alliance is a collaborative organization that works on behalf of and with Arkansans facing hunger. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Tomiko was working as...
Anna, who hopes to become a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) nurse, grew up in El Dorado and still calls it home with her husband and two daughters, Magnolia and Violet. When Anna and her husband were first married,...
Childhood Hunger is a Racial Equity Issue There are far too many children in our country who go hungry every day, especially when we have the tools readily available to address childhood hunger. Instead of working to support children,...
Every child needs access to an adequate amount of healthy food to thrive. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, too many of Arkansas's children were facing hunger, especially our Black and Hispanic or Latino children.
In mid-March, 2020, it became clear that Arkansas schools were going to close before spring break and likely remain closed after spring break due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was then that Kay Kay DeRosette, the former Be Mighty Coordinator...