Solution Tree asks Arkansas education secretary to withdraw $99.4 million contract

Education Secretary Jacob Oliva speaks to superintendents about the LEARNS Act during a meeting at the Northwest Arkansas Education Service Cooperative on Mar. 10, 2023. (Antoinette Grajeda/Arkansas Advocate)

An Indiana-based education company has asked Arkansas’ education secretary to remove an awarded $99.4 million professional development training contract from legislative review following criticism about past performance and cost from lawmakers.

In an email to the Advocate on Monday, Solution Tree CEO Jeffrey Jones said that, after reviewing the narratives around the company’s professional learning community project — PLC at Work — in Arkansas, “it became apparent that priorities have changed since we were awarded the contract through the thorough procurement process.”

“This has led to our request of Secretary [Jacob] Oliva to withdraw our contract from the review process , as we feel it is critical for our priorities to align,” Jones said. “We also know it is imperative to have the support and full cooperation of all stakeholder s to implement quality and effective professional development.”

Solution Tree still has three Arkansas contracts worth $149.9 million, according to the state’s transparency website .

Jones said Solution Tree “ will continue to work with and support the hard-working educators throughout the State of Arkansas as we have done for over a decade.”

“Their hard work and results should not be overshadowed by this specific contract review,” Jones said. “We remain proud of our work with these educators and are committed to continuing t o deliver outstanding results. Our focus is on improving teacher practice, which i n turn delivers improved outcomes for students.”

Monday’s announcement follows much debate in legislative meetings last week during which lawmakers asked why the contract was more costly than other vendors’ proposals, which ranged from $19 million to $26 million. Lawmakers also questioned why the state should continue working with a vendor that didn’t improve student achievement during its first seven-year contract.

According to a new report from the University of Arkansas’ Office for Education Policy, participation in Solution Tree’s PLC at Work program yielded “no statistically significant effect” on weighted student achievement or student value-added growth. The report’s authors define this growth as a student’s progress over time on annual state-required math and English Language Arts (ELA) assessments in grades 3-10.

Arkansas education secretary withdraws Solution Tree contract after legislative opposition

The state’s partnership with Solution Tree began in 2017 when it awarded the company a $4 million no-bid contract. Lawmakers in February requested an audit of the company’s contract after learning Solution Tree has received more than $140 million from the state, school districts and education cooperatives, according to the Arkansas Times . The audit has not yet been completed.

The state awarded Solution Tree a new seven-year contract after its proposal earned the highest score from evaluators. According to the proposed contract , Solution Tree would receive $15.7 million in the first year for professional development training. The total projected cost over the contract’s term is $99.4 million.

The company describes the training as a “research-based cohesive synchronized system of professional learning, professional learning communities, providing support to adult and student learners across the State.”

At Friday’s Arkansas Legislative Council meeting , Sen. Scott Flippo, R-Bull Shoals, said Oliva had asked to withdraw the Solution Tree contract.

The Arkansas Department of Education is neutral on the vendor selected for the contract, according to a statement issued Friday by Kimberly Mundell. However, “ADE felt it was prudent to do its due diligence” and address concerns before moving forward.

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