Second lady Usha Vance visits Arkansas to promote childhood literacy efforts

Second lady Usha Vance visited Glenview Elementary School in North Little Rock Tuesday to promote childhood literacy by reading to students and discussing Arkansas’ literacy efforts with state officials.

The wife of Vice President JD Vance and mother of four read the picture book “Chrysanthemum,” which she said is her daughter’s favorite book, to the Glenview student body.

“I came all the way from Washington, D.C. because I heard what amazing work all of you guys out there do every day in the classroom, and I wanted to see it for myself,” Vance told the students.

Vance’s work encouraging children to enjoy reading included a summer reading challenge for the past two years.

Earlier, Vance took part in a roundtable discussion about Arkansas’ efforts to boost childhood literacy, a core tenet of the LEARNS Act. The wide-ranging 2023 law required literacy screenings for K-3 students and provided literacy coaches for every K-3 teacher in schools graded “D” or “F.”

The Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education grades public schools based on how well students do on state assessment tests and how much they improve in core subjects from year to year, among other things.

State Education Secretary Jacob Oliva noted that the North Little Rock School District was graded “F” last year and rose to a “C” this year.

“What we know matters is if we build the right systems and invest in high-quality teachers, get them great leaders, provide the right robust support, and get the systems aligned, we’re going to see great results,” Oliva said.

The roundtable participants also included Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, First Gentleman Bryan Sanders, several State Board of Education members, North Little Rock School District Superintendent Gregory Pilewski and Republican state Rep. Keith Brooks of Little Rock. 

Brooks chairs the House Education Committee and was a lead sponsor of the LEARNS Act, which was signed by Sanders.

Most of the roundtable was closed to the press.