April 9, 2025
Online professional development system has awarded more than 4.6 million credit hours to Arkansas educators
CONWAY, Ark. (Arkansas PBS) — Arkansas PBS is celebrating the 20th anniversary of ArkansasIDEAS, a free professional development resource for licensed state educators that has become one of the leading such services in the nation.
As the most used online teacher professional development resource for K-12 educators in Arkansas, ArkansasIDEAS – a partnership with the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education – provides online professional development courses and resources statewide to more than 96,000 educators, administrators and other school staff.
“It is an honor to offer teachers and school support staff high-quality professional development and resources to support their efforts to educate Arkansas students,” Arkansas PBS Director of Education Sajni Kumpuris said. “Our team is very proud to serve a role in our state’s mission to increase student achievement in Arkansas.”
Users include employees of more than 1,000 public schools, 94 charter schools, 135 private schools, educational service cooperatives, Arkansas Correctional School, Division of Developmental Disabilities Services, Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired and Arkansas School for the Deaf. The portal is also widely utilized by both traditional and non-traditional teacher preparation programs, including university colleges of education, Arkansas Teacher Corps and others. In the past five years alone, ArkansasIDEAS has seen user growth of more than 47%.
Since its inception in 2005, ArkansasIDEAS has awarded more than 4.6 million professional development credit hours. As of March 2025, ArkansasIDEAS offers more than 600 courses, which are taken by school employees and teachers from every county in Arkansas.
ArkansasIDEAS provides professional development courses applicable to various teaching positions and subject areas as well as courses covering topics that are required by law for teachers to take, including courses on child maltreatment, bullying, concussions, sudden cardiac arrest, Arkansas history and more.
The portal also includes a 14-hour learning path providing Science of Reading Awareness training for those teachers required to demonstrate awareness, and a 45-hour Arkansas history program of study that is utilized for licensure in several areas, including to fulfill a requirement for teachers moving to Arkansas from other states.
More than 5,000 educators have completed the Arkansas History Program of Study, and more than 25,000 educators have completed the Science of Reading Awareness Learning Path since these programs were launched in 2014 and 2018, respectively.
Built by Arkansas educators, for Arkansas educators, ArkansasIDEAS courses are tailored to the needs of the state and provide access to high-quality, innovative professional development opportunities 24/7/365 via an online learning management system. Most courses can be taken on desktop or mobile devices.
ArkansasIDEAS also includes courses and resources in support of more than a dozen Arkansas Laws, including the Arkansas LEARNS Act (§ 6-16-156), the Right to Read Act (§ 6-17-429) and the Holocaust Education Act (§ 6-16-154).
Locally produced content from Arkansas PBS is also featured on ArkansasIDEAS, such as “Information on Mental Health for Students,” “Water Safety for Parents and Caregivers in Arkansas,” “Human Trafficking: Who Are the Victims?” and “Speak Up, Speak Out: Teen Suicide Awareness and Prevention.”
This summer, ArkansasIDEAS will launch “Human Trafficking: Who Are the Victims?”, “Bullying” and “Child Maltreatment.”
More information is available at ArkansasIDEAS.org.
Act 2318 of 2005 provided funding for a professional development initiative. This initiative established a partnership between AETN and the Arkansas Department of Education that helped create and provide free online professional development opportunities for all Arkansas-licensed educators.
About ArkansasIDEAS
ArkansasIDEAS is a partnership between Arkansas PBS and the Arkansas Department of Education, Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, to provide online professional development courses and resources for K-12 Arkansas educators statewide. The purpose of ArkansasIDEAS is to increase student achievement by supporting teaching and learning. Every project pursued by the team is designed to impact student learning through educator training.
About Arkansas PBS
Arkansas PBS, Arkansas’s only statewide public media network, empowers learners of all ages by educating, informing, entertaining and inspiring communities. Arkansas PBS serves as a daily and essential resource for Arkansans by creating, sharing, celebrating and driving conversation around Arkansas stories and classic, trusted PBS programs through multiple digital platforms, including livestreaming at myarpbs.org/live, on-demand services and YouTube TV, and the distinct channels Arkansas PBS, Arkansas PBS Create, Arkansas PBS KIDS, Arkansas PBS WORLD and Arkansas PBS AIRS on SAP. Members with Arkansas PBS Passport have extended on-demand access to a rich library of public television programming. Arkansas PBS depends on the generosity of Arkansans and the State of Arkansas to continue offering quality programming. Additional information is available at myarkansaspbs.org. Arkansas PBS is broadcast on KETS (Little Rock), KEMV (Mountain View), KETG (Arkadelphia), KAFT (Fayetteville), KTEJ (Jonesboro), KETZ (El Dorado), KETS (Lee Mountain), KETS (Forrest City), KETS (Yancy) and KETS (Gaither).
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