The Arkansas Advocates for Children& Families (AACF) board of directors congratulates fellow AACF board member Dr. Jay Barth on his appointment to the Arkansas State Board of Education.  His wealth of experience and body of work on closing the education achievement gap for low income and minority students make him uniquely qualified to serve on the board of education.

In 2008 Dr. Barth co-authored a ground breaking report by the Clinton School for Public Service and Hendrix College, “Education in the Post-Lake View Era: What is Arkansas Doing to Close the Achievement Gap.”  The report, commissioned by AACF and several partner organizations, included an exhaustive review of the research on what works in closing the achievement gap for low income and minority students and helped chart a new path for work by education advocacy groups in the state.  He has also served as a member of the Governor’s Task Force on Best Practices for After School and Summer Programs.   The work of the Task Force culminated in a 2008 report, “Enriching Children’s Lives Through High Quality After School and Summer Programs,”  that eventually led to 2011 legislation creating the infrastructure for a future state system of quality afterschool and summer programs.

During the last 3 years, Dr. Barth has continued to demonstrate his commitment to improving P-12 educational outcomes for all Arkansas students.  Dr. Barth has served as a special advisor to the Arkansas Opportunity to Learn (OTL) Campaign, a broad based coalition of state and local groups including AACF, the Arkansas Public Policy Panel, and others working to close the achievement gap for low income and minority students by ensuring that all students have quality opportunities to  learn. While an AACF board member the last several years, Dr. Barth’s extensive knowledge in the P-12 arena has been invaluable to AACF’s efforts to help Arkansas chart a new and more effective path in improving educational outcomes for all Arkansas students. Dr. Barth is the author of an upcoming report on the importance of reading at grade level by the end of the 3rd grade to future educational success for Arkansas students.

AACF applauds Governor Beebe for appointing Dr. Barth to the Board of Education. His experience and commitment to improving educational opportunities for all students will serve our state well in the years ahead.