Arkansas Secretary of Education, Jacob Oliva visited the Hermitage School District on Monday, January 6, 2025, as a surprise guest. While there, he spoke to educators who were learning about implementation of key literacy strategies across the curricula, student character-building principles, and the enhancement of the Positive Behavior Intervention Support (PBIS) processes.
Olive, a lifelong educator, was appointed by Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders in January of 2023.
Oliva’s leadership was instrumental in the passage of the LEARNS Act, a comprehensive restructuring of Arkansas’s education system. Oliva has since guided the implementation of LEARNS, which focuses on the importance of early learning programs, reading supports, and Career and Technical Education, in addition to empowering parents and recruiting and retaining the best educators.
Oliva is a graduate of Miami-Dade County Public Schools and Flagler College graduate in St. Augustine, Fla. He began his educational career over two decades ago as an elementary teacher for students with special needs. He later served as a principal at the elementary and high school levels and as a superintendent at Flagler County Schools.
Oliva shared where the state stands on education and why it is vital to ensure Arkansas's vision that all students can learn is successful. “This is our top priority as students are accelerated and provided rigorous instruction based on the Arkansas State Standards,” says Oliva. “ It is up to all school educators to ensure that the Arkansas Grade Level Standards are taught to all students.”
Oliva stated that third-grade students should be reading at or above grade level, as this is the stage when they transition from learning to read to reading in order to learn.
“When a student has gaps in reading in the early grades, we have a lot of work to do to catch them up,” Oliva said. “The professional development for teachers is key as we build a curriculum with high-quality instructional materials to teach the standards with fidelity. Our assessment system gives teachers real-time information on how to support students and data to measure progress. If teachers teach students the grade level Arkansas Standards every day, their lives will be changed because they will do better in school.”
Secretary Oliva travels across the state to listen to educators, and the Hermitage teachers were excited to share what they are currently doing to prepare students for successful pathways in school. Hermitage educators asked Oliva where the state of Arkansas is with the career pathways and expectations for schools moving forward regarding college and career readiness. Oliva said that Arkansas LEARNS requires each Arkansas school to offer three College and Career pathways in school. This year all Arkansas districts met that expectation. Schools need a system to have career goals and pathways that are obtainable by students.
While visiting, Superintendent LaDonna Spain, on behalf of the Hermitage School District, presented Oliva with a plaque made from Bradley County lumber and designed and hand-carved by retired local artist Charles Browning. The plaque was signed by Browning and all participating educators who spent time with Oliva.
“We are always happy to share what makes Hermitage so unique and special to Hermitage children and Bradley County. We were so excited to hear firsthand about Arkansas LEARNS expectations directly from Secretary Oliva and look forward to the future,” Spain said.
A special thank you to Commercial Bank executives and staff for sponsoring lunch and sharing time with the Hermitage School District and The Secretary of Education.