Arkansas THRIVE is a collaborative project funded through American Rescue Plan to support districts in efforts in developing and sustaining a Multi-Tiered System of Support, so students have access to the personalized academic, behavior, and mental health supports needed to be successful.    

Project Goals

• GOAL 1: To increase coordination of efforts that support behavior and mental health services and programs.
• GOAL 2: Increase capacity in developing and sustain evidence based Multi-Tiered Systems of Support that address behaviors through a system of positive behavioral supports.
• GOAL 3: Develop the infrastructure that will best support the needs of the whole child.

DESE will host Cohort 1 of AR THRIVE Leader Academy in the summer of 2022.  More information about this opportunity can be found at COM-22-136.

Training Opportunities 

THRIVE training is now scheduled through the state's educational cooperatives from 2025 through 2026. The scheduled dates and locations for training and a link to the training overview are listed below.

2025

January 13-14 - Dawson
February 10-12 - Dawson
January 29-30 - DeQueen-Mena
February 24-26 - DeQueen-Mena
March 3-4 - Arch Ford
June 9-11 - Arch Ford
March 10-11 - Southeast
June 16-18 - Southeast
July 14-15 - Ozark Unlimited
September 8-10 - Ozark Unlimited
July 28-29 - Crowley's Ridge
September 22-24 - Crowley's Ridge
October 13-14 - Northeast
November 3-5 - Northeast
October 20-21 - Mills
November 10-12 - Mills

2026

January 12-13 - Guy Fenter
February 23-25 - Guy Fenter
January 29-30 - South Central
February 10-12 - South Central
March 5-6 - Arkansas River
June 17-19 - Arkansas River
March 16-17 - Southwest
June 29-July 1 - Southwest
July 9-10 - North Central
September 14-16 - North Central
July 22-23 - Great Rivers
Sept. 30-Oct. 2 - Great Rivers
October 12-13 - Northwest
November 11-13 - Northwest

THRIVE Academy Overview of Training Days

IMPORTANT SESSION INFORMATION: Participants are expected to attend all five days of training unless certified in Youth Mental Health First Aid. Attendees already certified in YMHFA do not have to attend Day 5. However, certification in YMHFA must be current in order to qualify for the MTSS for Behavior and Mental Health endorsement at the time of submission. Failure to attend the first two days will disqualify attendees from attending days three through five.

For more information, please contact:

Russ Sherrill
Arkansas Department of Education
Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)
Office of Special Education and Federal Program
Phone: 501-326-7797
Email: russ.sherrill@ade.arkansas.gov