The Rotary Club of Warren closed out its 2024 meetings with a fantastic program at First Methodist Church on Tuesday, Dec. 10. A large group of Rotarians and guests heard from Warren High School Junior Rotarians Cody Weatherspoon and Braylen Watson to kick things off before Warren School District Assistant Superintendent Carla Wardlaw introduced Hermitage School District Superintendent LaDonna Spain. Spain then introduced the program for the day, the Secretary of the Arkansas Department of Education Jacob Oliva. Oliva touched on his background before talking about his role and education in the state of Arkansas. He mentioned how low Arkansas is on national rankings but said that things have already improved to where Arkansas is now ranked 38th in U.S. News and World Report, which is the first time Arkansas has been ranked above 40th in the last two decades. Oliva continued with some information about the LEARNS Act and answered some questions to close the program. He stayed around to visit with educators and administrators who were visitors today, which included staff from UAM, the Warren School District, the Hermitage School District, and the Woodlawn School District. Today’s meeting was the last meeting of 2024 for the Rotary Club of Warren with the next meeting scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025.
