Dr. Keith Nitta
Dr. Nitta says a vote for Jay is a vote for better education of our children.
The Jay I know is a dedicated, thoughtful public servant. We worked together for over a year to understand how to reduce the academic achievement gap between African American and white children in Arkansas. Jay worked hard to understand the many social and economic causes of the achievement gap and even harder to understand what has been actually proven to reduce that achievement gap. To address one of the most important civil rights issues of our time, Jay began with careful research and analysis to form the best possible conclusions and recommendations.
There will be no better advocate than Jay Barth for the Arkansas children who have been left behind…
The Jay I know is more than an academic; he is a social change agent. After we wrote a report recommending some measures the state of Arkansas can take to reduce the achievement gap, Jay immediately went to work trying to make the recommendations a reality. He took every opportunity to give speeches around the state, educating people on the magnitude of the problem and motivating them with some clear solutions to reduce the gap, such as, high-quality early childhood education and after school programming. He served on the Governor’s task force on afterschool and summer education, testified in front of the legislature, and organized with allies such as the Arkansas Public Policy Panel and Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families.
There will be no better advocate than Jay Barth for the Arkansas children who have been left behind, who are not reading at proficient levels, who are dropping out of school, and who are disproportionately from low-income, Latino, and African American families. Jay will bring a profound commitment to social justice to the state senate. More importantly, he will bring the intelligence, analytical skills, and knowledge to deliver on his social justice commitments. Jay will be a leader in the fight to eliminate the achievement gap and deliver real equality of opportunity to every child in Arkansas.
Dr. Keith Nitta
Former Professor, UA Clinton School of Public Service
