Sheridan School District Superintendent Jerrod Williams recently completed the first part of the Leadership IMPACT Institute, which was held Jan. 19-21, at the Winthrop Rockefeller Institute in Morrilton. The Leadership Impact Institute was developed by the Arkansas Leadership Academy to bring together a diverse group of leaders to identify and address educational and economic issues impacting the state of Arkansas.

The group, which consists of educators, legislators, and representatives from higher education, state agencies, and the business community, will work together over the next five months to develop strategies for building stronger school districts and communities within Arkansas.

“I am pleased to have been selected to serve with this group, as I will have the opportunity to represent the Sheridan School District and our region of the state,” said Williams. "We plan to propose legislation during the 2017 State Legislative Session that will enable us to better serve our students and faculty."

According to Williams, one major challenge in education is that there has been a steady decline in individuals entering the teaching profession. One of the group's goals is to identify ways to reverse that trend and recruit the best and the brightest into the field of teaching.

The Arkansas Leadership Academy is a division of the University of Arkansas. Its mission is to develop and support leadership capacity that fosters equity and excellence in education.