Education, Math, and More with Mr. Allison

 Yesterday I had an opportunity to meet Arkansas's new Secretary of Education, Jacob Oliva. If you're involved in Arkansas education at any level in any capacity, you know the elephant in every room is Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders' attempt to overhaul the state's education system, the LEARNS Act that became law earlier this year. Even though LEARNS is in a state of limbo while it's being challenged in court, smart money says it will be the law when school starts in the fall. Oliva is tasked with implementing LEARNS, which makes him very unpopular with a lot of people. But my first encounter convinced me he's not the bad guy many have painted him. We were at an Arkansas State Teachers Association (ASTA) Member Leader workshop. ASTA is a non-union, apolitical professional organization dedicated supporting to student-centered, teacher-led education in Arkansas. ASTA member leaders serve as points of contact and recruiters for ASTA in schools across the state. Me...