Dr. John Tackett, director of secondary education in the Pulaski County School District, was awarded the J.D. and Mary Lou Mashburn Award for Outstanding Advocacy for Students in Arkansas. Standing with him is Dr. Mark Mashburn.
The University of Central Arkansas Mashburn Center for Learning recognized local educators at the Kaleidoscope mini-conference Thursday, May 18 at the Brewer-Hegeman Conference Center on the campus.
Dr. John Tackett, director of secondary education in the Pulaski County School District, was awarded the J.D. and Mary Lou Mashburn Award for Outstanding Advocacy for Students in Arkansas. The award recognizes professionals who demonstrate a resolve and commitment to grow and sustain the Mashburn Center’s mission.
The UCA Mashburn Center for Learning was created with a donation from the Dr. J.D. Mashburn family in 1991. The Mashburn Center for Learning creates resources and opportunities that encourage Arkansas teachers to promote a sense of purpose, hope, academic achievement, and resilience for all learners as they experience barriers to learning. It is housed in the Department of Elementary, Literacy, and Special Education within the UCA College of Education.
The conference featured research presentations on the implementation of the methodologies promoted by the Mashburn Center.
Grant recipients who presented at the mini-conference were Bonnie Palasak, Bentonville School District; Tasha Rowe, Cabot School District; and Gia Taylor, Southside Batesville School District. Pulaski County Special School District teachers, Staci Cates, Daisy Bates Elementary School, and Julia Derfelt, Fuller Middle School, also made a presentation.
Approximately 50 educators from the Arkansas Department of Education, UCA College of Education and local school districts, as well as UCA students, atended the one-day mini-conference.
As part of the event, the Mashburn Center showcased a collection of video lectures that have now been transferred to the UCA Archives. Jimmy Bryant, director of the UCA Archives, said he hopes to have the lectures available online sometime in 2018.
