“Rise and Shine,” an extensive educational program designed to make summer learning fun and help K-5 students gain knowledge that aligns with Arkansas academic standards is now airing on Arkansas PBS weekdays from 8 to 11:30 a.m. Families and students across the state are encouraged to tune in to the six-week-long program centered on their favorite PBS KIDS series and original lesson segments from Arkansas Teachers of the Year.
“We are proud to announce the launch of this new statewide program to provide more educational value by not only promoting learning during the summer months but also by helping fill the void for students who do not have internet access outside of school or have otherwise been challenged during the pandemic,” Arkansas PBS CEO Courtney Pledger said. “We want to encourage families across the state to tune in to this free educational resource and to visit our website for additional tools available at no cost to families.”
Consisting of more than 100 hours of high-quality programming including mini-lessons from Arkansas Teachers of the Year, these segments are grounded in the learning targets provided by the Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education. With over 15 original songs, five original digital shorts, more than 30 field trip segments, and dozens of mini-lesson segments featuring Arkansas teachers, much of “Rise and Shine” is locally produced. Also available are supplemental printed learning activities in both English and Spanish.
“We are proud to continue working with Arkansas PBS to bring much-needed educational resources to our state, especially during such a critical time,” Johnny Key, commissioner of education and cabinet secretary at the Arkansas Department of Education, said. “As educators, we must do what we can to help our students achieve academic success. The launch of this new program is doing just that.” Each weekday, students can tune in to lessons led by Arkansas Teachers of the Year, featuring virtual field trips with partners. Field trips for week one will include:
● Bell Urban Farms to learn about the life cycle of a flower and the importance of bees and
butterflies
● Museum of Discovery to learn about the elements and unique properties of liquid nitrogen
● Central Arkansas Library System to learn about things besides books that can be checked
out from a local library and a quick craft
● Arkansas 4-H to learn about hiking safety
● Scott Family Amazeum to learn about candy
Field trips for week two will include:
● Toltec Mounds Arkansas Archeological Survey to learn about how found bones were
used to create tools in the past
● Scott Family Amazeum to learn about soldering
● Mural tour to meet Jason Jones and learn about his interactive robot mural in Rogers
● Arkansas Regional Innovation Hub to learn about making a honey dipper from wood
using a lathe
● Little Rock Zoo to learn about body covering
Other original segments each week will include science with “Robbie Rocket,” nutrition information
with “Zach Lunch,” fitness through dance in “Time Out With Tay,” and Steve the Music Man literacy
music videos.
“As an organization dedicated to improving student academics across our state, we are excited to
officially launch this new statewide summer learning initiative,” Stacy Smith, deputy commissioner
for ADE’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education, said. “Students have faced many
challenges in light of the pandemic, and as we are all enjoying our summer months, we are happy to
work with Arkansas PBS to provide vital supplementary educational resources to promote summer
learning.”
Arkansas families are encouraged to follow along with the program with “Rise and Shine” Power
Packets, which are free summer activity kits for kids that extend the learning of the mini-lessons
aired during the broadcast. Power Packets are bilingual, with activities printed in both English and
Spanish. They can be downloaded from the Arkansas PBS website or requested to be mailed directly
to homes, daycares, summer camps, and more.
In addition to broadcast, the programming is now available on-demand through streaming devices,
the Engage Arkansas PBS app, and on the Arkansas PBS website. More information about the “Rise
and Shine” program, including PDFs of the Power Packets to download and the request form to
receive printed Power Packets by mail, is available at MyARPBS.org/riseandshine.
For photos of the program, visit bit.ly/NRPhotosArkansasPBS.
