Wilbur D. Mills Education Service Cooperative

The ACTC team is so thankful to WRS for hosting the Security Summit last week! 🔐
The opportunity to collaborate, network, and learn more about protecting our districts and co-ops in the ever-changing cybersecurity world is invaluable. We truly appreciate your continued partnership and support!
#thinkcoop1st #yourBESTsolution #WRS

Career Exploration in Action! On Tuesday, WDMESC hosted a 6th Grade Career Exploration Day, bringing together students from 8 different districts for a day full of hands-on learning and inspiration! Students heard from an incredible lineup of presenters representing a variety of careers: Marsha Masters with Economics Arkansas kicked off the day helping students think about how economics connects to careers and decision-making. Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib shared what it’s like to be a food writer. Students completed a magazine scavenger hunt to analyze different types of food writing and discover how writers communicate about food in creative ways. Tina Medlock from Bank OZK introduced students to technical writing. Using LEGO activities, students learned how important it is to give clear, detailed instructions so others can successfully follow their writing. Students also joined a live Zoom conversation with Cabot native Amy Buck, a Lead Materials Engineer with NASA, who shared insights about engineering and the work she does developing and testing materials used in space exploration. The day wrapped up with Sarah Bennings, architect with Polk Stanley Wilcox. Students learned about architecture and put their creativity to work by completing a design challenge to create their own taco restaurant. It was an incredible day of exploration, creativity, and real-world career connections for our students! Thank you to all of our presenters for investing your time and expertise in the next generation.

WDMESC has a job opening for a Migrant Coordinator/Title 1, Part C Coordinator. Click here for more information: https://wilburmillscoop.tedk12.com/hire/ViewJob.aspx?JobID=1190

Today WDMESC was proud to host our Elementary Quiz Bowl, and what a fantastic day of competition it was! 🧠 We were thrilled to welcome teams from: Bald Knob, Beebe, Bradford, Hazen, Jacksonville North Pulaski, McCrory, Pangburn, Rose Bud, Searcy, and White County Central. After six exciting rounds of play, here are the final results: 🥇 1st Place & the only undefeated team: Searcy 🥈 2nd Place: White County Central 🥉 3rd Place: Beebe 🏅 4th Place: Rose Bud We are so proud of all of the students who competed today. Their teamwork, quick thinking, and academic knowledge were truly impressive! Thank you to our coaches, volunteers, and districts for making today such a success.

With support from our Local Leads, child care providers gathered Monday night in Jacksonville North Pulaski and Tuesday night in Lonoke County to dive into Leadership on the Rocks with Bethany Rees.

We had a wonderful two evenings filled with meaningful conversation, collaboration, and growth as we continue strengthening leadership for the children and families we serve.

Big shoutout to one of our incredible novice teachers, Jessica Newman who officially graduated from the MAT Special Education program on December 13th—with a perfect 4.0 GPA! 👏📚

She is a teacher in Cabot at Mountain Springs Elementary. Balancing coursework, teaching responsibilities, and everything in between is no small feat...but she did it with excellence, determination, and heart. 💪💙

We are SO proud of you and can’t wait to see the continued impact you’ll make in the lives of your students!

#NoviceSpotlight #WDMESC #SpecialEducation #TeacherWin #ProudMoment #FutureIsBright

🌍 Global Domination at WDMESC! 🎲 Today, students in grades 7–12 from White County Central, Pangburn, and Hazen came together at WDMESC to play Global Domination, a strategy-filled game inspired by the classic board game Risk! 💥 Participants put their critical thinking, collaboration, and strategic planning skills to the test as they formed alliances, made bold moves, and battled for control of the world. 🌎 A huge thank you to our amazing Global Domination hosts from White County Central — Luke Jones, Savannah Neugent, Josie Scoggins, and Laila Fisher — for leading such an engaging and competitive event! 👏👏

4th graders from Lonoke, Hazen, Searcy, White County Central, Carlisle, Pangburn, Rose Bud, Bradford, and Augusta put their creativity, teamwork, and problem-solving skills to the test during WDMESC STEM Day! Students worked together in groups to design and build their very own roller coasters — complete with twists, turns, and plenty of excitement. 🎡✨ From testing speed and stability to making sure their marbles made it safely to the finish line, these young engineers showed incredible innovation and perseverance. We’re so proud of their hard work and imagination! 💡🙌

🎲🧠 3rd Grade Game Day at WDMESC! 🧩✨ Students from Lonoke, Hazen, Carlisle, & Pangburn explored a variety of games that stretched their critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving skills—all while making new friends from across the region. 💡🤝 It was a day full of learning, laughter, and connection.

Just wrapped up an intense two days with our CIRT (Cyber Incident Response Team) meeting! 💻✨ Technology Coordinators from 14 of the 15 Arkansas Education Service Cooperatives participated. Big thanks to our ACTCs (Arkansas Cooperative Technology Coordinators) and SAS OST (Shared Administrative Service- Office of State Technology) for their dedication. We updated our Go-Bags, ran multiple scans, and strategized responses for potential email compromises. 💪🔒

A special shoutout to Bytespeed, iboss, and Cisco for sponsoring our Fall '25 event! Together, we're enhancing our cyber readiness!
#yourBESTsolution

On Wednesday, K–12 WDMESC Counselors came together to focus on Accelerated Learning with the ADE DESE Department of Guidance & Counseling and the Accelerated Learning & Gifted Education team. They also explored how to help students prepare for the “3 E’s” — Enrollment, Employment, and Enlistment — with support from the Arkansas National Guard and Arkansas Air National Guard, who shared resources for career planning and tools to help students discover where their strengths and interests align. We are grateful for our counselors’ dedication to ensuring students are future ready!

✨ Pencil in Some Economics PD was a blast at The Local Spark! ✨ Teachers explored fun ways to weave economics into their lessons through the story of how pencils are made—and even painted their own pencil door hangers! A big thank you to Economics Arkansas for sponsoring this session!

Hey Teachers! Join us to paint your very own pencil door hanger! Turns out a pencil is extraordinary as no single individual could produce one! Learn some economics and produce a fun decoration for classroom. Upon successful completion, Arkansas educators under 2025-2026 will receive: ✏️ 2 hours of professional development credit ✏️ Ready to use resources ✏️ Painted pencil door hanger LOCATION: The Local Spark 302 East Main Street in Cabot, AR August 25, 2025 from 4:30-6:30 Register here: https://www.escweb.net/ar_esc/catalog/session.aspx?session_id=566408

🌟 The ACTC team had an immersive experience at ADE Summit 25! We not only presented but also provided IT Tech Support. Loved seeing a full house in our sessions, Leading with AI: Tools for Administrators and Canva for Administrators!

Over 80+ elementary teachers and admin from Cabot came together across two sessions to gain a better understanding of OpenSciEd science curriculum. In 3 hours, they received a high octane overview of the resources, curriculum immersion, and teacher guide walk through. WDMESC is grateful for the opportunity to support our districts with their science instruction.

Morgan Verkler-Yates, our Recruitment & Retention Coordinator, and Brook Singletary, Assistant Director of Operations & Technology, led an engaging and fun session on AI Basics for Beginners at WDMESC today! #YourBestSolution

Yesterday, WDMESC partnered with Economics Arkansas and the Searcy Regional Chamber to host Connecting Educators to Entrepreneurs—a dynamic day of professional learning that linked classrooms to the real world of business! Educators participated in an economics scavenger hunt, gathered lesson ideas for teaching entrepreneurial life skills, and heard from a fantastic panel of local entrepreneurs, moderated by Tara Cathey of the Searcy Chamber. Panelists included: Ed Covington – Charlie’s Paint & Auto Body, Kelly Stanley – Stanley Pharmacy, JC Hite – Hite Digital Attendees also learned about the Adaptive Mailbox, an innovative product created by Searcy students River Hickey & Ruth Wiewora under the guidance of GT Coordinator Katie Lawson for the Youth Entrepreneur Showcase business plan competition. We love seeing real-world connections brought into the classroom!

Science teachers were treated to an exclusive tour of the Blanchard Spring Caverns. Teachers discovered phenomena both in and out of the cave and then took the experiences to the classroom to make connections to karst topography cave formations, mapping, rocks/minerals and fossils. We are grateful to Blanchard Springs and the Office of the State Geologist for supporting this 2 days of professional development.

Science teachers from around the area had the opportunity to experience "phenomenal" teaching from Paul and Laura Andersen from thewonderofscience.com Teachers experienced phenomena and how to incorporate crosscutting concepts and the science and engineering practices into their teaching.

Science teachers came together to dive in and learn about the Stream Team and understanding the health of our local water sources. Teachers spent the morning in the classroom and then took the knowledge to test water quality and practice techniques for catching and identifying macro invertebrates. Big thank you to John Burden from the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission for leading this great session.