June 2, 2025

Navigating Education Law

Federal education programs exist in a complex regulatory environment that can be challenging to navigate. How do school leaders effectively implement these programs while maintaining focus on what truly matters - student achievement? This question sits at the heart of our illuminating conversation with Erika Clark, Federal Programs Director at Jacksonville City Schools in Alabama.

Spotlight 4 Success: Spotlight 4 Success

00:06 - Welcome to Spotlight for Success

00:29 - Federal Programs Conference Purpose

01:15 - Erica's Educational Career Path

02:19 - Conference Takeaways and Communication

04:11 - Conclusion and Thank You

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Welcome to Spotlight for Success by American Book Company.

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We are here at the Alabama Federal Programs Conference in Montgomery, alabama.

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We are here with our special guest today, erica Clark.

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She is the Federal Programs Director at Jacksonville City Schools in Alabama.

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Thank you for joining us today, erica.

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You're welcome.

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It's good to be here.

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Wow, erica, can you tell us a bit about what brings you here to the Federal Programs Conference?

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Yes.

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Well, this conference is annual and a requirement for Federal Program Directors.

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It provides us with information, especially in the spring as we wrap up the year and as we're looking at our programs to evaluate them, to see what was effective this year.

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Did we see student improvement?

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Did we see gains?

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Are these things that we want to continue?

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So this is just a very good time of the year to come and focus on the end of the year.

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Oh, that's wonderful, and can you tell us a bit about the steps that brought you here, into this role?

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Well, I've been in education for a long time over two decades and I've had lots of jobs within education, starting out as a classroom teacher.

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So that's my love English language arts, always taught secondary ed.

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From there I moved into administration as an assistant principal at a high school.

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Then I had a tenure as an elementary school principal.

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So from elementary school principal, so from elementary school principal.

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Thank you for watching Spotlight for Success.

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I am Devin Pintosi, chief Operating Officer of American Book Company.

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We are located here in our headquarters in Woodstock, georgia.

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All of our materials are printed in USA.

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All of our materials are printed in USA.

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We have course books, e-books and online testing in grades K-12 in mathematics, ela, science and social studies.

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These materials are all designed to help students achieve higher scores on their state-specific high-stakes assessments.

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We guarantee score improvement.

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You can get free samples of our materials either in print or in electronic formats at abck12.com.

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We look forward to hearing from you.

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I transitioned to the district level and became federal programs director and some other hats because we're a small district.

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Oh, I imagine that can happen.

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It does happen.

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Is there anything you would like to take away from this conference or anything you'd like to share with the federal programs community?

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Well, the takeaways for me and we've had various breakout sessions the takeaways for me have been to ensure that we, as federal program directors, convey to the principals in our district what is allowable and what isn't allowable, but not just say yes or absolutely not say, just say no, lead them to the law, to what the statutes say, so that everybody has a clear understanding, because you know federal programs, very specific guidelines and the the overarching thing is it has to equate to student achievement, student improvement, and there are lots of creative things that you can do, but there are things that you cannot do.

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So the takeaway for me is to better communicate that with the principals in my district and show them specifically where it's written, because you know, just like all of us, we don't want to be told no, but if we're told no, we want to be told why.

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That is so good.

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It's the letter of the law, reflecting the spirit of the law.

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Absolutely.

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In this case, academic achievements.

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That's wonderful.

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Well, Erica Clark, it's been a pleasure speaking with you today.

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Thank you.

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Federal Programs Director, again in Jacksonville City Schools.

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Thank you for joining us.

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You're welcome.

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Thank you for having me.

Navigating Education Law

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