Arkansas Art Education News

11/10/2025

Boycott Sends a Message: Arkansas Art Educators Conference Sees Major Drop in Attendance

OPINION:
This year’s Arkansas Art Educators Fall Conference saw a noticeably lower turnout — a result many attribute to a coordinated boycott by teachers who say the organization has drifted too far from its mission to represent all Arkansas art educators.

Those who boycotted point to what they describe as a pattern of ideological control within the organization. Members recall that last year, following the national election, leadership instructed members not to discuss the election results because Donald Trump won, implying some political viewpoints were unwelcome.

More recently, members say the organization’s private Facebook group has discouraged or removed posts mentioning Christmas, announcing that holiday-related art and discussion would not be allowed. For many teachers in Arkansas — where Christmas art projects, service events, and community traditions are woven into school life — this was viewed as out of touch and unnecessarily divisive.

The message many educators took away was clear:

Certain perspectives can be celebrated. Others will be silenced.

The boycott, supporters say, wasn’t about rejecting art, professional development, or community — it was about standing up for inclusivity, the very value the organization claims to champion. Teachers are asking for an environment where classroom culture, student traditions, and personal beliefs are respected rather than discouraged.

The smaller turnout spoke volumes.
Arkansas educators are no longer willing to stay quiet or simply “go along.”
If an organization claims to speak for all teachers — it must actually represent all of them.

Whether the AAE chooses to listen remains to be seen.

10/12/2025

10/12/2025

🚨 Radical Left strikes again 🚨
Arkansas Art Educators FB admin (not even a member!) bans CHRISTMAS crafts, pushing “holiday” & “winter” instead.
The org’s president doesn’t even live in America. 🤦‍♂️

This anti-Christian, anti-American group wants to erase tradition from our schools. Parents should be outraged—teachers should BOYCOTT the AAE conference.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders

10/12/2025

“Radical Left Tries to Cancel Christmas in Arkansas Schools”

The radical left is at it again—this time targeting something as simple, as innocent, as an art project in our schools. In a post on the Arkansas Art Educators page, an administrator—who, let’s be clear, isn’t even a member of the organization—announced she won’t approve any posts showing Christmas crafts. Teachers are being pressured to water everything down into “holiday crafts” or just bland “winter projects.”

This is the kind of nonsense we’ve come to expect from the woke crowd: erase tradition, erase faith, erase anything that even hints at America’s cultural foundation. They call it “inclusion,” but what it really means is stripping away Christmas from kids’ classrooms to appease a tiny minority of complainers.

And here’s the kicker: the president of Arkansas Art Educators doesn’t even live in the United States anymore. Think about that. The person supposed to represent Arkansas teachers doesn’t even live in Arkansas—or the country. Yet they’re presiding over a group where unelected Facebook moderators push radical left talking points and try to shame teachers for daring to use the word “Christmas.”

Parents and teachers in Arkansas should be furious. Christmas is a federally recognized holiday and a deeply rooted tradition for the vast majority of families in this state. Kids love making ornaments, wreaths, and Christmas drawings. Now we’re told those activities are too offensive?

This is political correctness on steroids. It’s a radical left agenda masquerading as “sensitivity,” and it’s being forced onto teachers who already have enough pressure from administrators and curriculum demands.

The bottom line: if you let the woke radicals erase Christmas from the art room, what will they come for next?

07/26/2025

🚨 OPINION: School Emails, Nonprofit Business — Are Arkansas Art Educators Crossing the Line?

Let me get this straight: public school employees in Arkansas — paid by taxpayers, using taxpayer-funded infrastructure — are listing their school district email addresses on the website of a private nonprofit group, the Arkansas Art Educators?

Take a look: http://www.ararted.org/board-members.html and http://www.ararted.org/council-members.html .

That’s right. A nonprofit organization — one that collects dues, runs conferences, and engages in private financial activity — is conducting its business using publicly funded school email accounts. If that sounds like a misuse of public resources to you, you’re not alone.

Imagine a teacher or administrator using their .k12.ar.us or other district address — the same account used to handle sensitive student information — to organize nonprofit events, negotiate with vendors, and collect money from members. You’d expect that kind of blending of personal interest and public duty to raise red flags. In some states, it already has.

Let’s be clear: school emails are not personal property. They’re not meant for side hustles, private club business, or networking on taxpayer time. They’re tools of public service, funded by you and me, intended for educating kids — not coordinating private-sector conferences.

And let’s not forget the legal angle. In Arkansas, emails sent from public accounts are subject to Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. That means every board vote, every financial detail, every vendor agreement conducted through a school email could potentially be accessed — exposing both the school district and the nonprofit to public scrutiny.

So why hasn’t anyone stepped in?

Where’s the accountability? Where are the district superintendents, the IT directors, the ethics officers — all of whom are supposed to be guarding the line between public duty and private interest?

The following public school districts and charter organizations have employees currently listed with their official school email addresses as nonprofit board contacts for Arkansas Art Educators:
• Fayetteville Public Schools
• Cabot Public Schools
• Little Rock School District
• Drew Central School District
• Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD)
• Atkins School District
• Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock (charter)
• Bentonville School District
• Lake Hamilton School District
• Forrest City School District
• West Side School District (Greers Ferry)
• Rogers Public Schools
• White Hall School District
• Fort Smith Public Schools

This isn’t some obscure footnote. These are real taxpayer-funded systems that now appear tied — at least by email — to a private nonprofit’s business operations. That’s not just questionable. It’s reckless.

Nonprofit board members should use dedicated nonprofit email addresses — simple as that. It’s best practice. It’s transparent. And it protects both the schools and the organizations from serious legal headaches.

Let’s put it plainly: if you’re using your school email to run a private nonprofit, you’re not just blurring the lines — you’re erasing them.

This isn’t a witch hunt. It’s a wake-up call. Public institutions deserve better. Arkansas taxpayers deserve better. And frankly, so do the educators who are trying to do things the right way.

It’s time to clean this up — before a FOIA request or ethics complaint does it for them.

⸻

📣 TAKE ACTION

If you’re a taxpayer in Arkansas and you’re concerned about the use of public school email systems for private nonprofit business, make your voice heard:

✅ Contact the superintendents of the following districts and ask if their policies permit school email addresses to be used for private nonprofit activity:
• Fayetteville Public Schools
• Cabot Public Schools
• Little Rock School District
• Drew Central School District
• Pulaski County Special School District (PCSSD)
• Atkins School District
• Exalt Academy of Southwest Little Rock
• Bentonville School District
• Lake Hamilton School District
• Forrest City School District
• West Side School District (Greers Ferry)
• Rogers Public Schools
• White Hall School District
• Fort Smith Public Schools

✅ Email the Arkansas Department of Education: [email protected]
✅ Submit a concern to the Arkansas State Board of Education
✅ Attend local school board meetings and ask about district policy on email use
✅ File a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request if you believe public resources are being misused

Arkansans deserve transparency, accountability, and ethical use of public resources. Let’s raise the bar — and raise our voices.