ADE Summit 2026

Provides educators, administrators, and school staff with a comprehensive understanding of state classroom inspections and how they serve as a tool for growth and improvement rather than just oversight. Participants will learn about the inspection process, key focus areas, and best practices for preparing their classrooms while fostering a positive and collaborative relationship with inspectors.

This session will review the various options families of students in Arkansas have in finding the best educational options for that student. Specifically, the presentation will address the obligations and opportunities various School Choice options present to the local public school.

Arkansas is currently in a CLASS pilot year.  As Local Leads, part of our job is to visit all publicly funded classrooms, administer a CLASS assessment, and support programs in building positive, meaningful interactions. The four presenters for this season have collectively completed more than 150 CLASS observations in the last year and a half across infant, toddler, and pre-K settings. 
We started noticing the same pattern over and over: teachers are working hard during large group, centers, and small group time to build relationships, model language, and support problem-solving. But mealtimes and snack times — which easily take 30 to 45 minutes of a child’s day — are often treated as “get through it” moments instead of intentional interaction time. That is a huge missed opportunity for building connections, positive interactions, concept development, scaffolding, and language modeling. “What’s on the Menu? Interactions!” is designed to change that.

Join Nutrition Services for an informative session that will highlight the range of nutrition programs available to support your students. Attendees will gain an understanding of program benefits, and the application process along with practical strategies to maximize participation while staying in compliance.

Arkansas children begin developing the foundational skills for literacy long before they enter kindergarten. The Arkansas Imagination Library provides children from birth to age five with developmentally appropriate, high-quality books mailed directly to their homes each month—creating what may be the first High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM) many children experience.
This presentation will explore how Arkansas Imagination Library supports early language development, vocabulary acquisition, phonological awareness, family engagement, and kindergarten readiness through consistent access to high-quality children’s literature. Participants will learn how local school districts can partner with Arkansas Imagination Library to strengthen literacy outcomes before children ever enter a classroom.
Recent national and state research will be shared that consistently demonstrates that early access to books and shared reading experiences significantly impact future academic achievement, including third-grade reading proficiency. By supporting Arkansas Imagination Library, school leaders can help ensure children arrive at kindergarten with stronger literacy foundations, increased exposure to print, and positive reading routines already established in the home.
This session will provide practical partnership models, funding strategies, enrollment outreach ideas, and examples of how Arkansas districts can position Arkansas Imagination Library as a foundational component of their early literacy pipeline.

ACA §6-20-2204 requires Superintendents and bookkeepers to attend a minimum of 2 hours of annual training on school laws, expenditure of school funds, fiscal accountability, school finance, ethics, and financial accounting and reporting. This class meets the requirements of the law. Additionally, school districts are required to provide 2 hours of Tier II training. Some districts choose to use this course to meet that requirement.

Staffing decisions are among the most consequential choices district leaders make. With salaries and benefits comprising the majority of a district’s operating budget, even small staffing changes can have long‑term fiscal implications that extend well beyond a single budget year.
This session is designed for superintendents, school business managers, and principals who play a role in staffing decisions and resource allocation. Participants will explore how Arkansas funding structures interact with staffing choices over time. The session highlights the true cost of adding positions, implementing salary schedule increases, and maintaining staffing levels during periods of enrollment change.
Attendees will examine the distinction between positions and programs, learn when restricted funds may appropriately be used for salaries, and discuss strategies for avoiding unsustainable staffing growth. The session will also introduce practical fiscal tools available to district leaders, such as enrollment projections and staffing models, to support proactive, data‑driven planning.

In this session, you will explore the Arkansas Teacher Registered Apprenticeship, an innovative, evidence-based approach to educator development aimed at tackling teacher shortages across the state. This program offers a work-based learning opportunity, where approved apprentices receive high-quality instruction through accredited educator programs while simultaneously working within a participating school district. Designed to foster educational excellence in K-12 schools statewide, the apprenticeship ensures teachers acquire valuable on-the-job experience and become fully integrated into their school’s culture, equipping them to be classroom-ready from day one.

Many tutoring contracts focus on inputs—minutes, sessions, and staffing—without clearly tying services to student success. In this session, participants will learn how districts can use outcomes-based contracting to prioritize measurable growth and accountability in High-Impact Tutoring. Using real pilot experiences from districts that implemented outcomes-based tutoring contracts this year, we will discuss what outcomes to measure, how to set fair targets, what data systems are needed, and how to avoid common pitfalls (such as misaligned incentives or weak implementation expectations). This session will provide concrete strategies and examples to support leaders who want tutoring investments to produce clear, documented student learning gains.

Join a discussion on new standards for web content and mobile apps recently established by the Department of Justice under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This session will provide an overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines as well as federal compliance deadlines (April 2026/2027). Explore how these requirements impact district implementation of social media, website design, vendor agreements, and document sharing. The session will conclude with a demonstration of free evaluation tools and resources designed to help monitor compliance and document progress.

Experience the 'teacher life' before the first day of school. This session explores the impact of year-long residencies on candidate confidence and classroom effectiveness. A discussion of implementing successful residency programs that benefit both the aspiring educator and the students they serve, ensuring a smoother transition from pre-service candidate to professional practitioner. Early results from the implementation of the year-long residency will be presented.

Join a discussion on Arkansas laws that aim to increase cybersecurity and data privacy for school districts. Topics will include the latest information on requirements, timelines, and resources for the K12 Cybersecurity Policy (Act 504) and the Arkansas Self-Funded Cyber Response Program (Act 846).