CLEVELAND, Miss. – Teach Plus Arkansas & Mississippi has named 25 teacher leaders, including one from the Mineral Springs School District, to its 2026-27 Policy Fellowship, marking the inaugural cohort for the newly merged two-state region. Over the next year, these educators will work directly with the Arkansas and Mississippi departments of education and state policy leaders to bring classroom-tested solutions to a region where over 25% of public school students face chronic absenteeism, missing class time that follows them for years.
Selection into the Fellowship was highly competitive, with 130 applications for the 25 spots. The Fellows share a single mission: dramatically increasing the number of students who graduate truly ready for college and careers, with a dedicated focus on the rural and Delta communities where that work is most urgent. The Fellowship builds on each state’s own track record of educator-driven policy change, from Mississippi Fellows’ successful advocacy for a weighted student funding formula to Arkansas Fellows’ advocacy on early childhood education and teacher retention.
Teach Plus trains Policy Fellows in policy analysis, research, advocacy, and communications, including storytelling and op-ed writing, so rigorous data and firsthand classroom experience from educators reach decision makers and the public directly.
Key policy focus areas:
• Chronic Absenteeism: Fellows will research which policies may actually reduce chronic absenteeism in the hardest-hit districts, including how other states track 9th grade on-track rates, an early sign of whether a student stays on pace to graduate.
• Data Systems: Fellows will push for data systems that measure progress as students transition from elementary school to secondary, and then to postsecondary institutions (ex. college, job training) before entering the workforce. The aim is to identify where preparation is falling short, including whether the K-12 system is laying the right groundwork for postsecondary success.
• Student Success Plans: Arkansas and Mississippi both require students to plan what comes after high school. Fellows will work to make sure those plans are real and guide decisions around course selection, actual access to career and technical education (CTE) programs, and direct ties to colleges and employers, so every student with a plan is also able to follow it successfully.
Meet the Arkansas
Fellows:
Arkansas Delta
Crystal Barnes, Pine Bluff School District (Pine Bluff)
Mitzy Allen, Watson Chapel School District (Watson Chapel)
Shanta Calhoun, Pine Bluff School District (Pine Bluff)
Jessica Holmes, Stuttgart School District (Stuttgart)
Northeast Arkansas
Marcus Lewis, The Academies at Newport School District (Newport)
Reed Fogleman, Paragould School District (Paragould)
Eastern Arkansas
Carolyn Chrestman, Marion School District (Marion)
Aniyah Smith, Marion School District (Marion)
Brenda Wilson, West Memphis School District (West Memphis)
Southwest Arkansas
Chancy Ware, Senior Policy Fellow, Mineral Springs School District (Mineral Springs)
Yolanda Smith, Texarkana Arkansas School District (Texarkana)
