Little Rock teachers honored by Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education NEW On the move? Let us read it for you. LISTEN NOW Your browser does not support the audio element.
Opioid program to expand to schools
The Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership, formed by the Arkansas Municipal League and the Association of Arkansas Counties to combat the state's opioid epidemic, has expanded its Naloxone Hero Program to include schools.
The group will provide naloxone -- a medicine that allows an individual suffering from an opioid overdose to breathe normally -- and training materials to schools opting into the program.
Through the naloxone program, which was rolled out in 2022, the partnership has provided more than 86,000 doses to various groups and plans to distribute an additional 23,000.
The Bryant School District has previously partnered with the opioid recovery group, but "the goal is for all schools to eventually participate," said a spokesperson for the partnership.
The program expansion also includes law enforcement agencies, emergency medical agencies and fire departments across the state.
UAMS day camps taking applications
The Medical Applications of Science for Health program, offered by the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, is accepting applications for 11th and 12th grade Arkansas students to delve into health care careers this summer during various day camps.
While some of the program's camps are spread over two weeks and others are condensed into one, all camps involve hands-on activities, facility tours and meetings with health care professionals.
Each camp will be held at a regional medical center, hospital or college in one of 23 cities across the state.
Students must be entering 11th or 12th grade with at least one biology class already completed to be eligible for the program, which is now in its 37th year and has served more than 10,000 students since 1988.
For ninth and tenth grade students, UAMS also offers a Community Health Applied in Medical Public Service camp in Crossett over three to five days. Applications and more information about each camp can be found on the medical center's website.
2 LRSD teachers are honored by group
Little Rock School District gifted and talented education teachers, Charlotte Cook-Bomar from Watson Elementary School and Krystal Williams at Dr. Marian G. Lacey K-8 Academy, each received an Educator Recognition Award from the Arkansans for Gifted and Talented Education organization which honors several teachers across the state each spring.
Other recipients of this year's recognition award were Caroline Gairhan at Cabot Public Schools' Stagecoach Elementary, Mignonne Scarbrough from Vandergriff Elementary in Fayetteville and Cindy Dunn from the Rogers School District's Greer Lingle Middle School.
Additional accolades included the Award of Excellence, the Parent and Community Award, Challenger Award, Youth Challenger Award, Curriculum Award, Presidential Award and more, with some honoring K-12 educators and others highlighting higher education professionals.
Award recipients were honored at the organization's 2025 conference earlier in the week, on the heels of the annual Gifted and Talented Awareness Week which falls on the last week of each February thanks to a proclamation signed by former Gov. Asa Hutchinson in 2019.