SUMMARY: Cardinal Robert Pvost, now Pope Leo XIV, became the first American-born pope in history after his election, surprising even his family. Born in Chicago, the 69-year-old Augustinian missionary has a background in math and theology. His first mass was held at the Sistine Chapel, where he emphasized building bridges, embracing dialogue, and showing compassion. Pope Leo XIV spent much of his life in Peru, even gaining citizenship. Reactions to his election have been enthusiastic, with praise from his hometown, Villanova University, and even the White House, as people celebrate his historic appointment.
Cardinal Robert Prevost, now known as Pope Leo the fourteenth, was born in Chicago and is the first American pontiff in history.
Arkansas Education Secretary Jacob Oliva plans to recommend a Level 5—Intensive Support classification for the Blytheville School District due to ongoing academic and administrative challenges. The district struggles with declining enrollment, low student achievement, and leadership instability, with no permanent superintendent since last August. Many teachers are unlicensed, though on licensure pathways, and state support has been extensive. Internal dysfunction and a lack of governance plague the district, prompting Oliva to seek a special board meeting for community input. A Level 5 classification could lead to sanctions including state takeover, aimed at addressing persistent failures.
Arkansas’ education secretary notified the state education board Thursday of his intent to recommend a Level 5 – Intensive Support classification for the Blytheville School District due to ongoing academic and administrative challenges.
Education Secretary Jacob Oliva said, with the board’s support, he’d like to schedule a special board meeting in Blytheville in the next two to three weeks so they can hear from community members and formally recommend increasing the district’s current Level 4 classification to the highest level of state support.
“This is a school district where there’s opportunities for students and families to be very successful. There is no reason that this school district should continue to be the failure factory that it is,” Oliva said. “And it’s becoming more and more apparent the reason they’re in the state they are is because they do lack governance and leadership.”
The State Board of Education visited Blytheville in August after being alerted to concerns with the Northeast Arkansas district last July. The district has struggled with declining student enrollment over the last decade, according to Deputy Commissioner Stacy Smith, who provided an overview of Blytheville’s situation to the board at its monthly meeting Thursday. The district has 1,260 students this year, about half of its 2014 enrollment.
Students are struggling academically, according to last year’s statewide testing scores, which showed more than half of students in English language arts and science and 76% of students in math scored in the lowest achievement level, Smith said.
About half of Blytheville’s teachers are unlicensed, but the education department has helped them all get on licensure pathways, she said.
Arkansas Department of Education and Crowley’s Ridge Education Service Cooperative staff have provided about 100 and 185 days, respectively, of onsite support and training, Smith said.
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There’s been a “dance of inconsistency” at the district, which was making progress but now appears to be backsliding, she said. While staff members seem receptive to making changes, Smith said there’s dysfunction between the central office and the Blytheville School Board because “we don’t have the right people in either place.”
Since 2018, the district has had two full-time superintendents and three interim superintendents. Jennifer Blankenship was appointed as the current interim superintendent on June 12, 2024. She also served in the interim role from July through December 2021.
After the previous superintendent was officially terminated last August, the board reviewed candidates in late November and decided to keep Blankenship. A consulting firm hired in February presented two of 13 applicants in late April, but the board declined to interview them and reposted the position.
“Our biggest concern at this point is we are in May and we have no superintendent, and we have walked with this district for an entire year providing lots of support,” Smith said.
Though the board unanimously agreed to reject the superintendent candidates, Smith said there’s a “lack of coherence” and dysfunction within the board.
“When we were there before, much of the public comment in the meeting was about the dysfunction of the board, it wasn’t about what was happening in the school,” she said. “It was about this public image of the board.”
State education board members expressed support for Oliva’s request for the special meeting, including Blytheville native Randy Henderson who said he was “very disappointed” in the situation. Fellow board member Jeff Wood cautioned his colleagues that upgrading Blytheville’s classification to a Level 5 isn’t something that should be taken lightly.
“Level 5 intervention rarely has the celebratory results that we’re looking for on the backside of Level 5; it is not an answer in itself,” Wood said. “There is still a long road of work ahead even after Level 5 consideration. I would hope for a strong plan, decisive plan, quick action plan because one thing I learned in the Level 5 I lived through is just the slow process of it didn’t work.”
Wood was appointed in 2016 to serve on the Little Rock School District’s Community Advisory Board when ADE took over that district. When the district was returned to local control in November 2020, Wood was elected to serve on the district’s new school board.
The process of considering the classification change must begin with written notification to the Blytheville School District about the intent to recommend the Level 5 classification, Smith said. The district has the right to appeal and ask for a hearing, or the board can make the recommendation without a hearing, she said.
If the classification is approved, the board can determine what sanctions go along with it, such as dissolving the local board or approving a state takeover of the district.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
The article appears to report on the educational challenges faced by Blytheville School District and the state’s response without overtly promoting a particular political agenda. The tone of the article is primarily factual, focusing on the issues of academic performance, administrative difficulties, and lack of leadership within the district. While it highlights the state’s efforts to intervene with increased support, the language used, particularly the criticism of the district’s governance, reflects a concern for systemic improvement. The report is neutral, but the implicit critique of local leadership and emphasis on state intervention leans slightly toward a Center-Left perspective, focusing on governmental responsibility to correct perceived failures.
www.thecentersquare.com – Tim Clouser | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-08 13:53:00
The article reports on a subcommittee hearing where Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was questioned by Senator Patty Murray about the alleged politicization of federal disaster relief funding. Murray raised concerns that Republican-led states were receiving quicker disaster relief responses than Democratic-led states, citing the denial of disaster aid to Washington state and other Democratic-led areas. Noem denied any political bias, insisting that funding was not being prioritized based on political affiliation. The article touches on FEMA’s handling of disaster relief under President Trump’s administration and the President’s proposed budget cuts, which include reductions to FEMA programs.
(The Center Square) – As red and blue states face rejection amid recent disasters, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem denied claims on Thursday that her department prioritizes relief in Republican-led areas.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., begged the question during a subcommittee hearing on the Department of Homeland Security’s 2026 budget request. Much of it centered on immigration enforcement, but Murray grilled Noem over the alleged politicization of federal relief funding.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency, which supports Americans in the face of natural disasters, falls under the oversight of DHS. Since President Donald Trump took office, FEMA has denied funding requests from at least one Republican-led and two Democratic-led states.
“Disaster relief has been politicized,” Murray claimed Thursday. “DHS is making it a lot harder to qualify for relief, something people in my home state of Washington are experiencing firsthand.”
FEMA rejected Washington state funding last month without providing a clear reason why.
Gov. Bob Ferguson released a statement that the state had met all the criteria after a windstorm hit Washington state last November. According to reporting by KUOW, an NPR station out of Seattle, FEMA has also denied relief funding to Arkansas, California, Tennessee and Wisconsin.
“Multiple requests from governors have been rejected in recent weeks, including a request from our state, and we haven’t been given any response about this,” Murray said. “I’m watching this, and I’m thinking, has President Trump directed you to prioritize funding for Republican states?”
“Absolutely not,” Noem immediately responded.
Murray claimed that Republican states are getting responses to their requests much faster than Democratic-led states, which “are being forced to wait. Trump has repeatedly criticized FEMA and suggested that the federal government should give the funding directly to the states.
The president’s “skinny budget” proposal for next year asks Congress to cut non-defense spending by $163 billion, a 22% reduction, some of which targets “wasteful and woke” FEMA programs.
“Have you directed your staff to prioritize funding to Republican-led states over Democratic states?” Murray pressed again.
“Absolutely not,” Noem told Murray. “There will not be any politicization of support, relief, FEMA assistance or grants given based on politics. Every single person will be treated the same; it’ll be very different than the Biden administration.”
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
This article reports on a tense exchange between U.S. Senator Patty Murray, a Democrat, and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, a Republican, during a subcommittee hearing on FEMA’s handling of disaster relief requests. The article sticks primarily to factual reporting, detailing the accusations made by Murray and Noem’s denials. The language used in the article is relatively neutral, recounting specific actions and claims without overtly taking sides. However, the mention of President Trump’s criticism of FEMA, as well as Noem’s responses defending the department’s actions, aligns the article slightly with a Center-Right perspective due to the overall framing of Noem’s defense and the portrayal of Democratic-led states’ complaints as politicized. There is no clear endorsement of either party’s perspective, but the piece subtly highlights the ongoing tension between political factions on the issue of disaster relief funding, with a slight inclination toward portraying Noem’s stance more favorably.
SUMMARY: At intersections, Arkansas State Police Captain Brad Land clarifies common driving mistakes. When turning left, drivers must always yield the right of way, a rule often misunderstood. Additionally, drivers should turn into the closest lane—right turns go into the nearest lane, and left turns should not cross into the right lane. Failing to follow these can lead to crashes or tickets. Drivers should also be cautious with green arrows and red lights, knowing who has the right of way. Captain Land recommends reviewing state guidelines for a refresher on these basic traffic rules to ensure safer driving.
One of the most misunderstood rules of the road is who has the right of way when turning at a light. Arkansas State Police are helping clear up the confusion.
