EAST Initiative

Community service is one of our core pillars, and by beta testing our new Community Service Tracker system on our website, these programs showed how students become more civically engaged during their time in EAST — regardless of age.

EAST staff has worked hard over the summer to create a system that allows our students and facilitators to track community service hours, archive the contact information of clients and community partners, and even generate certificates! These additions will provide a stronger emphasis on community service in our programs.

Facilitators, please note that your students must have an EAST account to take advantage of these new features.

Thank you EAST at John Tyson Elementary School and Emerie for this fun boost to fuel us all for the rest of the week! 🥳 A fifth-grade EAST student leading PD for teachers...doesn't surprise us!

Thank you The Vine for having us on this morning!

EAST Initiative tool aids student community service The new tool helps educators and students track community service hours.

Please join us in welcoming the EAST Phase Class of 2024! These facilitators completed their initial training over the summer and will lead their EAST Environments for the first time this school year.

Interested in working to provide our students the resources they need to do incredible things? Apply today to become EAST's new Director of Development at https://eastlink.me/EASTCareers!

Thank you to these awesome students from EAST at Vilonia High School and EAST at Roberts Elementary for sharing their EAST experiences with those attending the 2024 Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators Summer Conference!

Who knows? These students might be responsible for some future new EAST programs. 🤷‍♂️🤷‍♀️

54% of EAST programs received the distinction of Program of Influence this year, up from 27% in 2023! Congratulations to all programs that achieved either level of recognition, and thank you for providing an influential EAST Environment for your students.

Students from EAST at Batesville High School Charter wrote, illustrated, and published an original children's book about Batesville's mascot Pioneer Joe, and featured it in a new story walk (also worked on by EAST students!) on a popular local trail!

With in the rearview mirror and a new school year just ahead of us, we want to take a moment to thank everyone who made last week possible! These sponsors invested in EAST so we can invest in our educators.

THANK YOU to our facilitators, sponsors, exhibitors and everyone who made as electric as it was! We have so much more to share but as for now, we wish everyone safe travels home and an incredible school year!

There's nothing like spending a night bowling and snacking with your family and friends! Thank you to everyone who joined us last night at Seminar Social to have fun and support the EAST Scholarship Fund.

In the past two days at , our facilitators have attended 38 unique Breakout Sessions to prepare them for the upcoming school year. Believe us, these sessions weren't boring either. 😉

EAST students might see some new decorations in their classrooms this school year! Facilitators enjoyed an evening of "Eats and Easels", a guided art experience where they could show off their skills and create something unique for their program!

This morning at Opening Session, we honored Erin Rappold of EAST at Vilonia High School as the recipient of the 2024 Matt Dozier EAST Legacy Award! This is a peer-nominated award that honors an outstanding facilitator each year.

We also recognized 28 facilitators for their long-standing commitment to EAST, including Clint Scrivner and Michael Finch who have spent 20 years as facilitators!

just started and we're already Amp'd Up for the rest of the week! Facilitators have pondered over projects while enjoying some pie, remixed their favorite songs and linked up with their Networking Groups!

While is an event focused on preparing our facilitators for the upcoming school year, we like to have some fun too!

Everyone is welcome to join us next Thursday for Seminar Social at Fast Lane Entertainment for bowling and appetizers! Entry costs $15 per person and all proceeds benefit the EAST Scholarship Fund. RSVP today at https://eastlink.me/SeminarSocial.

Bray is hitting the ground running as the facilitator at EAST at Sloan-Hendrix High School! Please follow their page because we have a feeling some awesome things will be happening there. 😉

Nights at the movies are a core part of Summer Break, and these EAST students made the experience at their local historical theater better with their award-winning project "Drinks Up at the Melba!"

Read about the EAST Project Competition winner at https://eastlink.me/EASTInsight.

EAST 🤝

Troy and Kelley from the EAST staff travelled to Denver this week to share the impact EAST has on education at ISTE Live, a national EdTech conference attended by over 17,000 educators!

The dynamic duo also led a breakout session on the value of student-led community service project in schools!

We welcomed 59 Arkansas educators into EAST HQ last Friday to learn how to use the Bambu Lab X-1 Carbon 3D printers, and plot twist — every educator got to take one home for free!

A special thank you to Joel Gordon from MatterHackers, Inc. for leading the two classes, and to Arkansas EPSCoR for providing the grant to make these the LETS: Prepare for the Future series possible.

We're excited to announce a new collaboration between EAST and the North Little Rock Airshow! Beginning in the 2024-25 school year, EAST programs will have the opportunity to work with the Airshow on various projects to make the event bigger and better than ever!

EAST Education Unleashed partnered with the Arkansans for the Arts and the Arkansas Department of Education to provide free professional development today, sharing free software options for Arkansas educators to integrate into their classrooms.

One of the many perks of having an EAST program is access to Student Training courses taught by industry professionals, and the numbers speak for themselves!

Please join us in welcoming these 11 schools as they enter the EAST Network! From one side of Arkansas to the other, we are excited to see what their EAST students will accomplish.

Reflect on the highlights of the 2023-24 school year and in the latest edition of EAST Insight!

Check out the digital edition today at https://eastlink.me/EASTInsight.

What an achievement! From his EAST program in Camden to now winning an Emmy for his work as a meteorologist in Boston, there is truly no limit for Tevin. Congratulations!

This week was bittersweet, as we celebrated and said good-bye to three of our Board Members who have completed their tenure of service to EAST. Thank you to John Riggs, Mildred Franco and Dr. Charlotte Williams for championing EAST and supporting our students and organization!