Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Touts Her Education Record Since Taking Office

5 months ago

In her State of the State address earlier this month, Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R-AR) touted her record on education.

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Transcript

00:00And that starts with education, which was my top priority since taking office.

00:05I worked with this body, this group, to pass Arkansas Learns and launch the largest transformation

00:13of Arkansas education in modern history and the largest single investment in our public

00:20schools ever before.

00:23Before this year, our teachers were some of the worst paid in the country.

00:40In many districts, there wasn't a single educator making more than $50,000 a year.

00:48Learners raised starting teacher pay from $36,000 to $50,000 and gave every single teacher

00:57in the state a $2,000 raise.

01:12Arkansas went from 48th in the country to the top five overnight.

01:18Before this year, only a third of Arkansas third graders could read at grade level.

01:25Learns deployed 120 literacy coaches to public schools across the state, targeting at-risk

01:32students with the attention that our kids need and the attention that they deserve.

01:40Before this year, Arkansas families had no choice where to send their kids to school.

01:47Learns expanded education freedom to more than 5,000 students in just one year.

01:54Fifty percent of those students have learning disabilities.

02:00We have a few EFA families that are here with us today, including Colonel Chatteridges from

02:07the Arkansas National Guard's 39th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, his wife Carrie, and

02:15their two kids.

02:17I met Chad and some other Arkansas Guardsmen during my trade mission to Germany last year,

02:24and while we were there, Chad brought up the Learns Act and mentioned that his family was

02:31taking advantage of the program so that they could send their son Karsten, who has Down

02:37Syndrome, to Compassion Academy in Conway.

02:41Now, nearly nine months into the school year, Karsten could not be doing better.

02:48He's never been the type of kid who lets his differences get in the way of doing what he

02:55knows that he is capable of doing, and at Compass Academy, he is surrounded by a supportive

03:04staff who believes in him just as much as he does.

03:10We ask a lot of moms and dads who protect our communities and our freedoms and who keep

03:17us safe, and it's important that we recognize their service and their sacrifice and that

03:25we stand up and show them our support.

03:29Karsten is here with us today.

03:31Karsten, are you up there?

03:32I'd love to get a wave.

03:35Let that be a reminder to this group, Karsten is the person that we are serving.

04:05Karsten is the person that we are helping, and Karsten is the face that we are fighting

04:10for every single day.

04:13Year one of the Learns Act targeted the most at-risk students in our state, but education

04:20freedom should be for everyone, and soon, education freedom accounts will be too.

04:28I had the opportunity to visit Harvest Time Academy in Fort Smith last week to announce

04:34that EFA applications for next year are now open to more families, the children of first

04:41responders, law enforcement, veterans, and any student attending a D-rated school.

04:49In just the first day of the application period, we had more than 1,800 new sign-ups, new students

05:01looking for an opportunity, and those numbers have only climbed since, and I'm happy to

05:08report that 25% of those applicants are the children of active duty military personnel

05:16and our state's veterans.

05:18They deserve to know that we are cheering and rooting for them.

05:33Educational freedom is the least that we can do for those who put everything on the line

05:39for our freedom.

05:41This time next year, we will have universal education freedom for the first time in Arkansas

05:48history.

05:59Send me a budget that continues to fully fund the LEARNS Act, and I will sign it.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders Touts Her Education Record Since Taking Office

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