Good things happening

It's been longer than normal since we last posted, but there's lots of good public school news to share since then. Here are just a few of things that make us smile:

• STEM teaching will get a boost in the Delta, thanks to a $1,118,063 National Science Foundation grant to Hendrix College. Students majoring in science, technology, engineering or mathematics will receive $15,000 if they commit to teach in a high-need Delta School.
• Stuttgart and Vilonia school districts both won millage elections to fund exciting improvements.
• More Arkansas kids -- 22,857 of them -- took Advanced Placement tests last year and, what's more, the number of tests with the desired scores of 3, 4 and 5 increased by 11.8 percent.
• The U.S. Marshals Museum in Fort Smith is holding a History Day Workshop for sixth- through 12th-grade students and teachers on Saturday.