The Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce will host its second annual State of Education Breakfast on Friday, September 18. The event will feature representatives from the local college, public school district, and private academy who will provide updates on educational developments and challenges in the community.
The breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m. in the Trout Room at the Vada Sheid Community Development Center on the Arkansas State University-Mountain Home (ASU-MH) campus, located at 1600 S. College Street. Breakfast service begins at 7:30 a.m., followed by presentations at 8 a.m.
Speakers include ASU-MH Chancellor Bentley Wallace, Mountain Home Public Schools Superintendent Allyson Dewey, and Mountain Home Christian Academy Administrator Doyne Byrd. NEXT Powered by NAEC is sponsoring the event.
The breakfast is free to attend, but registration is required. Community members can sign up at https://bit.ly/StateofEd2026 or by using a QR code printed on promotional materials from the Chamber.
This event is part of the Chamber's ongoing series of public forums, which also include the State of Healthcare, State of Real Estate and Tourism, and State of City and County events. At last year’s inaugural education breakfast, Superintendent Dewey highlighted significant academic progress, including a 15-percentage-point increase in key high school performance measures and a district-wide average ACT score of 20.3—nearly two points above the state average. She added that students exceeded state testing averages in 15 of 21 assessed areas and encouraged community members to consider funding scholarships.
Administrator Byrd announced during last year’s event that Mountain Home Christian Academy had achieved full accreditation through Cognia after a two-year effort. He also addressed the impact of tuition increases and described how accreditation enabled families to access Educational Freedom Accounts under the LEARNS Act.
The Mountain Home educational community has seen significant achievements entering this year’s breakfast. In June, Baxter County earned the prestigious ACT Work Ready Community designation, an effort led by the Chamber in partnership with ASU-Mountain Home and Mountain Home Public Schools. The milestone was celebrated in July when Chamber President and CEO Dani Pugsley and district testing coordinator Becca Camp accepted the designation at ACT’s national summit in Nashville.
Mountain Home students played a key role in this accomplishment. The percentage of juniors earning a National Career Readiness Certificate rose to 92% over the last school year, up from 75% the year prior. Additionally, 24 students achieved the top platinum-level certification, and the district plans to administer the assessment to all juniors this year.
For more information, contact the Mountain Home Area Chamber of Commerce at 870-425-5111.