2 Craighead County schools selected for EAST funding

Jonesboro, Arkansas – Two schools in Craighead County have been chosen to receive starting financing, according to a statement released by the EAST Initiative on Wednesday.

In addition to providing professional development, the grant from the Department of Secondary Education/Arkansas Department of Education will pay for the technology required to set up a complete EAST classroom setting.

The news release from Wednesday states that the following four colleges are the initial recipients of the funds:

• Brookland Middle School
• University Heights School of Medical Arts in Jonesboro
• Friendship Aspire Academies-Southeast Middle School in Pine Bluff
• Mayflower High School

According to EAST Chief Executive Officer Matt Dozier, the organization’s curricula encourage students to engage in critical thinking about issues they observe outside of the classroom.

“We are driven by the belief that every student deserves access to innovative education experiences that will help them drive positive change in their communities,” he said. “Adding new programs means providing more students with this opportunity while equipping their classrooms with cutting-edge technology along with the tools to learn and use it.”

For the 2024–2025 academic year, over ten more new EAST programs are eligible for startup financing.

Schools in Arkansas that are thinking about using EAST in the upcoming academic year are urged to fill out the form at https://news.eastlink.me/nextstep.