We are excited to announce that the 2025 LEA Academy will be held on October 2-3 at the Hot Springs Convention Center. This year’s Academy will feature a variety of sessions designed to assist educators as they lead their districts toward Building Bridges to Meaningful Futures. 

We welcome all Superintendents, Principals, Special Education Supervisors, Early Childhood Coordinators, and other leaders in education to join us for the 2025 LEA Academy. This event promises to be both inspiring and informative, offering an opportunity to learn from leading experts and collaborate with fellow educators to enhance your district’s educational practices. We look forward to seeing you at the 2025 LEA Academy!

 

Come explore breakout sessions offered both days—designed to support your work and build bridges to meaningful futures. Topics include compliance and accountability, meaningful access, transition and pathways, data and reporting, and much more.

Thursday, October 2

Keynote speaker, Dr. Tessie Bailey, “Lessons Learned from Supporting Local Implementation of Specially Designed Instruction.”

Keynote speaker, Dr. Tessie Bailey, “Myths and Facts About Specially Designed Instruction within an MTSS Framework.”

Friday, October 3

Keynote speaker, Sheila Whitlow, “Bridges of Belonging: The Educator's Impact.”

Office of Special Education Panel, “Hot Topics,” featuring Dr. Jeff Adams, Becky Bell, Yvonne Greene, Josh Hart, Danita Pitts, and Rick Porter.

Keynote Speakers

Tessie Rose Bailey, Ph.D., is the Director of the Progress Center: Promoting Progress for Students with Disabilities and advisor for the Center on Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS Center) at AIR, Lead IDEA Center, and National Center on Intensive Interventions (NCII). She also supports states and districts in implementing special education requirements and tiered systems through the National Center for Systemic Improvement (NCSI) and state contracts. She has conducted hundreds of workshops and presentations for local and state educators on effective and efficient implementation of MTSS and special education. She has developed many widely used technical assistance resources, including the Multi-Tiered System of Supports Within Schools: The What and The How, Strategies for Setting High-Quality Academic Individualized Education Program Goals, assessment and intervention professional learning material, online self-paced learning modules, and training materials for local technical assistance providers.

Sheila Whitlow, Ed.S., is currently serving as the Associate Deputy Commissioner for the Arkansas Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. Her career spans more than 37 years, with her educational journey beginning as a classroom teacher at Judsonia Elementary School. In addition to teaching, she has served as both a building-level and district-level administrator at the White County Central School District and a literacy specialist at the Wilbur D. Mills Education Service Cooperative. Most recently, she was the Assistant State Superintendent for the Office of Coordinated Support and Service (OCSS). Sheila received a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education from University of Central Arkansas at Conway, a master’s degree in building leadership from Harding University in Searcy, a master’s in Curriculum and Instruction from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro, and a specialist’s degree in Educational Leadership from Harding University.