6 minute read
AAEA Legacy Leader
Belinda Akin-Carpenter
Leading up to the 50th anniversary of the AAEA Summer Conference, which will take place on July 28-30, 2025, at the Statehouse Convention Center and Marriott Hotel, we are interviewing some of the greatest Arkansas education leaders over the past several decades. Our fourth interview features Belinda Akin-Carpenter, 2009-2010 AAEA Board President.
Mrs. Belinda Akin-Carpenter’s career began as a first-grade teacher in the Dermott School District. After one and a half years of teaching, Belinda and her husband decided she would stay home to start a family. Seven years later, she returned to teaching in the Monticello School District, where she taught first and fifth grades. The superintendent asked her to move into an assistant principal role, which she served in for three years before becoming the principal. After her 28th year in education, Ms. Carpenter became a school support leader at the Arkansas Leadership Academy, where she worked for seven years before retiring.
The first time Mrs. Carpenter attended the AAEA Summer Conference was an overwhelming experience. As she watched everyone, she noticed that leaders surfaced, those who led breakout sessions and sat at the front table. She met these leaders over the years and understood what their leadership was all about. They encouraged her to step out of her comfort zone, facilitate sessions herself, and run for leadership positions in the AAEA. These individuals became her mentors and positively impacted her over the years.
The greatest challenge Ms. Carpenter saw during her career was dealing with change and bringing change to her staff. She learned that the more involved the stakeholders were, the more buy-in there would be. She realized she did not have all the answers, solutions, or resources she needed. When she brought her staff, students, parents, and community in, it changed the atmosphere in the building and the community. AAEA also played a key role in supporting change by bringing in presenters to share new ideas and strategies, which helped her move her building forward.
Technology has been the greatest change Mrs. Carpenter has seen since she started in education. The key resources were the teacher’s manual and a good set of World Books when she started teaching. Now, the resources teachers have at their fingertips are unlimited due to the internet. Technology has changed everything in the school, good things and bad things, but it has changed everything. She recalls that the first computer lab in their school wasn’t connected to anything. Then they purchased a mobile computer lab that teachers could take into their classrooms. Ms. Carpenter recalls that this wasn’t very long ago. Technology has changed fast. It has changed schools and teaching, and it has changed students.
Mrs. Carpenter describes her introduction to the AAEA: “In one of my first Master’s classes, my instructor was Dr. Kellar Noggle. In the first class, he stood before us and started speaking about the importance of AAEA. He gave us a sheet with a list of acronyms and told us there would be a test over them, so we needed to memorize them. It was a list of all the constituent groups. I memorized them and passed the test! Dr. Noggle continued to share about the importance of AAEA and their support for administrators throughout the entire course. If I could go back and tell Dr. Noggle one thing, I would tell him that he was right and I wish I had listened and started participating in the AAEA even earlier.”
Mrs. Carpenter states, “Of all the benefits of AAEA, and there were so many…the greatest benefit is networking. I learned quickly that there were people in the state who were facing the same problems I was facing and the same successes I was enjoying. It didn’t matter if they were from northwest Arkansas, southeast Arkansas, central Arkansas, or wherever; we all had something in common. Wherever we went, we gravitated together. We sat at round tables just discussing ‘What are you doing about this in your school? How are you applying that? What does it mean?’ I learned so much from the colleagues in this state. When you work together, you find answers. When you work alone, you’re really searching hard.” She continues, “I knew when a Commissioner’s memo came out that I did not fully understand, I could pick up the phone and call a colleague and ask, ‘Did you get that one? What does it say to you?’ I had lifelines, friends, and support everywhere. We grew together.” Mrs. Carpenter still enjoys these friendships during her retirement as she stays in touch with her former colleagues.
Mrs. Carpenter encourages new leaders to be learners all the time. When she sent teachers to professional development, she understood the importance of attending along with them, to sit at the table with them to hear the same thing they heard. As a principal, she knew she would monitor and support her teachers as they implemented their new learning, so it was important for her to fully understand what they were being asked to do. Secondly, it is always important for leaders to be good listeners, taking the time to listen, whether you have the answer or not. This builds credibility and trust, and your staff is more apt to go with you if they think you’re hearing them.
After 35 years in education, Belinda said she loves everything about retirement! It gives her time to be with her family, follow her grandchildren, and watch them participate in their activities. Retirement also allows her to do more in her church and work in her community. She continues to support her local schools by helping with Quiz Bowls, and she is the Spelling Bee Director for Drew County. In addition to volunteering, Mrs. Carpenter loves working in her yard, reading, and travelling.
Belinda has two daughters who live in Benton, and her husband has a son who lives in Colorado. They have 5 grandchildren between them.
