Hi, it’s Tabitha. I’m the policy director for the Chris Jones for Governor campaign. 

We believe that every resident in Arkansas deserves access to the opportunity to live their dreams, but we know that isn’t the current reality. 

According to the U.S. News and World Report, Arkansas is ranked 41st nationally in education. The state maintains a notable teacher shortage with lower teacher pay than its neighboring states, has some of the lowest graduation rates in the country, and only 37 percent of its third-graders are reading at grade level.

The P in the PB&J Chris wants to spread across Arkansas stands for Preschool, because a strong educational pathway begins with access to quality, affordable, and accessible preschool. Access to preschool not only boosts student success for the rest of their academic career, it also enables parents to stay in the workforce, and increases other positive outcomes for students and communities as well.

Ending cycles of poverty and making our students productive citizens of our state and the world starts with early education, which is why universal access to preschool is how we give our children the best chance at leading happy and healthy lives. 

Chris and the campaign have been brainstorming innovative ideas to approach Arkansas’  education policy as governor — a lot of which he’s defined in his Promises on our campaign website, which include:

• Providing the resources needed to get every child reading at grade level by third grade.
• Finding solutions to rising tuition so a higher education can be more affordable and accessible to all.
• Provide our state’s teachers with competitive pay, support, and training so that they are properly equipped and motivated to educate the future of Arkansas.
• Supporting technical and trade schools by establishing standards that keep programs competitive, and Arkansans making good pay for skilled work. 

But what makes Chris such an effective leader is that he’s an eager listener. We want our policies to be shaped by this grassroots movement, and we’re even launching a task force of community members to give input on this.

That means we want to hear directly from you. What education-related policies would you like to see Chris work on as Arkansas’ next governor?

Thank you!

Tabitha Bonilla
Policy Director
Chris Jones for Governor