Tag Archives: Rice

Rice in Schools plants seeds of learning statewide

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Story by DDNS Reporter Jerry Don Burton

Schools across Arkansas are learning to embrace the natural state’s top crop as the Rice in Schools program pilot run continues.

The Arkansas Rice in Schools program, launched by the Arkansas Department of Agriculture in collaboration with Arkansas Rice and USA Rice, is an initiative to teach students how to cook with rice and educate them on the significance of the grain.

Leslee Tell, the farm-to-school coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture, directs the program. She said Rice in Schools will teach students where their food comes from.

(Left) Leslee Tell, farm-to-school coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture, describes the Rice in School Program to the Nettleton School Board at a March 17 meeting. According to the USDA website, the program, which is in a pilot phase, gives schools the tools to serve locally grown rice in healthy meals. PHOTO COURTESY OF JERRY DON BURTON

“Our goal is simple, increase the use of Arkansas-grown rice in schools, while helping students learn about agriculture, nutrition and where their food comes from,” Tell said in a YouTube video introducing the program. “This program is about more than just meals, it’s about connecting students to Arkansas agriculture and supporting our local farmers.”

Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders developed the program in fall 2025, following the transition of nutrition programs to the Arkansas Department of Agriculture.

In December 2025, the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board approved $15,000 in funding to support the program’s implementation. These funds provided schools with equipment to encourage the usage of Arkansas rice in their menus.

Sanders said the new program will teach students how farmers use rice to feed families around the world. She said students will use food made in Arkansas to develop healthy eating habits.

“Rice isn’t just part of Arkansas’ economy; it’s part of who we are,” Sanders said in a press release published Nov. 13, 2025.

Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state, accounting for more than 40% of rice production in the United States, according to Arkansas Rice. Tell said a majority of this rice is produced in Arkansas’ northeast region. 

A graphic presents quick facts about Arkansas rice production. Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state, accounting for more than 40% of rice production in the United States, according to Arkansas Rice. GRAPHIC COURTESY OF ARAKNAS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Almost 20 Arkansas schools and districts are scheduled to participate in the program’s pilot phase, which began in February at Ward Central Elementary in Cabot, Arkansas. The pilot will wrap up in May at Forest Park Elementary in Little Rock.

As part of the program, Tell travels to participating schools with a team to involve students in cooking demonstrations and interactive educational lessons. She also introduces meals with local rice to school menus and trains cafeteria staff in preparing them.

On April 9, Tell traveled to Newport, Arkansas, to introduce the program to students at Newport High School.

Leanne Bradley, the family and consumer science teacher at Newport High School, said Rice in Schools was a beneficial experience for her students. 

Bradley said rice’s significance to Arkansas demonstrates the program’s importance.

“I think everybody is aware that if you don’t take care of what you have, you can lose it,” Bradley said. “(Rice) is something that we have that not every other state has.”

Bradley said her food production and culinary students passed out stir-fried rice samples Tell made for elementary students. After sampling different meals made using rice, students placed stickers on a bulletin board to indicate how much or little they enjoyed the meals.

Tell said they compile student opinion data from every participating school. Then, in June, she said they will analyze the data to determine which recipes students liked most and least and make appropriate changes.

Bradley said the students greatly enjoyed the Rice in Schools program. She said her students cooked with rice before, but Tell’s contributions provided them with new ways to use the grain.

The family and consumer science teacher said she appreciated how the program helped her students realize how much rice Jackson County, where the Newport School District is located, produces.

According to the 2022 USDA Census of Agriculture, Jackson County produced almost 80,000 acres of rice, second only to soybeans.

“So just for the kids to realize this is a huge staple that Arkansas provides for the state, and it’s easy and it does not have to be Minute Rice,” Bradley said. “It really doesn’t take that much longer to actually cook your own rice and the quality is just so much better.”

Julie Isbell, superintendent at the Harrisburg School District, where Tell visited in March,

also said she loved how the program connected her students with local rice production.

Poinsett County, where Harrisburg is located, produced about 90,000 acres of rice, according to the same USDA census.

Tell also brought the program to the Nettleton School District in March. Nettleton School Board Vice President, Donnie Hauge, said he supported the program and thinks helping kids learn cooking skills and understand where their food comes from is an important undertaking.

Wes Ward, Arkansas secretary of agriculture, said the program emphasizes how Arkansas’ dominance over rice production could be used to support students and education. He said the program is a good step toward getting Arkansas to buy and use more of its own rice.

Bradley said rice is also versatile and can be stretched further than other ingredients. She said this is especially important for those who cannot afford as much food.  

“It’s a very quick and easy staple that you can keep in your pantry and it can go for a wide variety of different types of food,” Bradley said. “If your family is financially disadvantaged, you can pair beans and rice together, and that actually makes a complete protein.”

Bradley said her favorite part of the program was how it helped students interact with and cook rice in different ways than they’re used to. For some, Bradley said this program represents an introduction to rice as an ingredient.

However, the family and consumer science teacher said Tell’s visit to Newport was not without challenges. 

Tell was scheduled to return to Newport High School on April 10, but Bradley said she fell ill and missed the second day. 

“She could have talked so much more and given the information about it. She did not get to go into depth like she would at other places,” Bradley said.

In the time they did spend together, Bradley said Tell was a very energetic and fun, but professional person to work with.

“I think she’s phenomenal and I liked having the opportunity,” Bradley said. “I hope that this is something that takes off and is able to be utilized in schools across Arkansas.”

Tell said the student feedback, recipe evaluations and participation data gathered in the pilot will refine the program and prepare it for statewide expansion.

In the final iteration of the program, Bradley said she would like to see taste testing and activities for all grade levels.

Tell said the program continuously searches for and develops new and more effective methods of engaging schools.

Bradley said the school will continue building on the foundation laid by Tell and the Rice in Schools Program. She said the school’s student-run restaurant, the Hungry Hound Cafe, started implementing rice meals based on what they learned from the program.

Tell said she is a teacher at heart and loves to cook, so working with students to prepare recipes in the classroom was a great combination.

“We are bringing Arkansas-grown rice to schools across the state,” Tell said. “One plate at a time.”
More information about the Rice in Schools program may be found on the Arkansas Department of Agriculture’s website. Program organizers also created a digital guide featuring rice data and recipes from USA Rice.

Nettleton School Board discuss educational rice program, effective AI usage

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Photos and Story from DDNS Reporter Jerry Don Burton

March 18, 2026

Bar graph depicts U.S. rice production (red) and harvested area (green) from the years 1985 to 2024. Rice production increased by nearly 1 million acres between 2023 and 2024. Courtesy of the United States Department of Agriculture.

The Nettleton School Board heard presentations on an initiative to educate students about rice and effective AI use in classrooms at its monthly meeting.

Rice in Schools Pilot Initiative

(Left) Leslie Tell, farm-to-school coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture, explains the Rice in School program at the Tuesday, March 17, Nettleton School Board Meeting. According to the USDA website, the program, which is in a pilot phase, gives schools the tools to serve locally grown rice in healthy meals. Photo by Jerry Don Burton.

Leslee Tell, farm-to-school coordinator for the United States Department of Agriculture, addressed the board at the meeting Tuesday, March 17, to provide an overview of the Rice in Schools program.

Tell said the initiative aims to provide schools with the resources to serve local rice and educate students about the significance of rice in Arkansas. She said Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders saw the importance of rice in the state and developed the initiative in fall 2025.

“So her idea was that, number one, students know where their food is coming from. Number two, that it’s local food as much as possible,” Tell said. “If we’re growing this much rice, then we should probably be serving rice and teaching kids to love rice as well.”

According to the USDA, the United States accounts for less than 2% of global rice production, but ships 5% of global exports. Arkansas is the largest rice-producing state, accounting for more than 40% of rice production in the U.S.

Tell said a majority of rice production in Arkansas is concentrated in the state’s northeast region. 

(Third from left) Donnie Hague, Nettleton School Board vice president, asks USDA Farm-To-School Coordinator Leslee Tell a question about the Rice in Schools program. Photo by Jerry Don Burton.

Donnie Hauge, Nettleton School Board vice president, said a program for helping kids understand where rice comes from and how to cook with it is a great idea.

The farm-to-school coordinator said about 20 schools have signed up for the program. 

Participating schools will introduce classroom lessons on Arkansas agriculture, participate in hands-on cooking demonstrations, train cafeteria staff and include local rice in school meals at least once a month.

Tell said schools may also engage in taste tests and interactive experiences. She said the program is continuously expanding and introducing new ways to highlight Arkansas rice. 

One such development is the creation of a cookbook containing 50 rice recipes for students to take home and prepare with their family. 

“In the food banks and blessing boxes, there’s a lot of rice,” Tell said. “ If you have kids wanting to eat rice at school and they’ve made it at school, they get their recipe book, and they can go home, and maybe that bridge can happen between the parent and the child, and we could encourage that.”

Tell said the program also engages with the current national interest in eating real food. 

“You can’t get any more real than this,” Tell said. “We’re eating real food, we’re eating real rice, real chicken, real vegetables and we’re making it right here from scratch, in front of the kids.”

Currently, the initiative is in a pilot phase. Tell said feedback from participating schools will be used to improve the program and shape future expansions.

Effective AI Usage in Classrooms

Following Tell’s presentation, the Nettleton High School principal, elementary school principal and three junior high school students addressed the school board to explain how they’ve implemented artificial intelligence in their respective fields.

Philip Cook, Nettleton High School career and technical academy principal, said he and other educators use AI to increase productivity and generate content. He said he uses AI to outsource elements of his workflow. 

(Right) Philip Cook, Nettleton High School career and technical academy principal, explains how the high school uses AI coaching assistant Edia to those in attendance at the Nettleton School Board meeting. Cook said AI, when used properly, helps educator lessen their workload. Photo by Jerry Don Burton.

“What we do at NHS right now is we have teachers that use it to generate worksheets. We use it for coaching students and to help with our summative evaluations,” Cook said. “Then also, to look at and align some of our different curriculum with each other.”

Using the Arkansas academic standards and ATLAS achievement level descriptors for geometry as an example, Cook demonstrated how AI can be used to parse and summarize dense information. 

The high school principal said projects like creating curricula that meet various standards, something which could take all summer to complete, are achievable in a single weekend with AI like ChatGPT. 

Cook said Nettleton High School is also incorporating Edia, an AI coaching assistant, in the classroom.

Despite embracing AI, Cook said education will always need a human element. 

“That’s what we’re trying to do in our critical algebra is not just turn it over to the AI–because then we become a facilitator–but use that where it’s appropriate to support that learning and then go ahead and let the teacher break kids into small groups, interact with them, give them those alternative learning methods,” Cook said. “I think it takes a good marriage of both to really be as effective as we can.”

University Heights Elementary Principal Sarah George said she uses Upraiser, an AI software designed to enhance teacher evaluations, in her administrative duties.

(Right) Sarah Geoge, University Heights Elementary principal, explains how she uses Upraiser AI when giving teacher evaluations. She said she uses Upraiser to provide actionable feedback to teachers. Photo by Jerry Don Burton.

“This platform has really helped, because it’s narrowed down the feedback that is given to teachers because it’s directly aligned to standards,” George said.

Garrett Andrews, the newest member of the Nettleton School Board, asked George if the AI she uses is accurate. George said Upraiser is mostly accurate, but agreed with Cook that a human element will always be necessary.

The elementary school principal said she is transparent with teachers and lets them know when the feedback they receive is partially AI-generated.

After George’s report, Nettleton Junior High School students Collins Baker, Jace Stegall and Brik Hogan presented a slideshow to detail how they use AI.

Baker said she learned how to use AI in 2025 and mostly utilizes it as a search engine, like Google. She said, while a helpful tool, AI can nonetheless introduce biases in its responses.

Stegall said he uses AI for coding help and in certain class assignments, specifically one project using drones to map hazardous conditions in Jonesboro.

“We want to know how to use it right, how to use it responsibly and how to use it for our school work instead of cheating,” Stegall said.

Hauge said the students’ presentation taught him how they use AI not for short answers or cheating, but productively and responsibly.

Other business 

In other business, Athletics Director Tommy Raffo announced several upgrades and additions to the athletic facilities:

  • New track and field sand pit
  • New baseball bullpen
  • New televisions installed near concession stands
  • New and updated spirit banners installed in gym

Raffo also said he was proud of the boys and girls basketball teams, who were seeded fourth and second in the state, respectively.

Finally, the Nettleton High School Choir performed three songs ahead of the school’s production of “Hairspray.” Showings will be held April 24 and 25 at 7 p.m. and April 26 at 2 p.m. More information may be found on The Raider Spotlight’s Facebook page.
The next school board meeting will be held at 6 p.m., April 21, at the Nettleton Central Office.