By the Arkansas Black Vitality Staff

LITTLE ROCK – June 18, 2026 – Forward Arkansas, the nonprofit group established in 2015 by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and Walton Family Foundation to improve educational outcomes for Arkansas students, announced today that it is expanding access to an innovative education model to five school districts statewide, bringing the total number of schools in the program to ten.

Following the success of its inaugural state-based outcomes-based contracting (OBC) cohort last year, Forward Arkansas said it is now providing similar support to Cabot Public Schools, Farmington Public Schools, Mayflower Public Schools, the Pine Bluff School District and Warren School District to participate in the District Contract Accelerator.

Under the outcome-based contract model, Forward Arkansas said it has redesigned its partnerships with service providers to deliver instructional interventions that produce measurable student results. 

“Over the past year, we’ve seen firsthand how outcomes-based contracts are helping districts reimagine their partnerships with providers to directly tie educational investments to measurable student success,” said Meghan Busbey, senior director of programs.

“By leveraging this model, districts are not only ensuring their intervention programs are implemented with fidelity but transforming how they’re supporting students on the ground,” said Busbey.

In October, Forward Arkansas first announced that it was bringing a “transformative” new education model to the state as part of its ongoing efforts to empower and equip pre-K-12 schools to drive student success.

Arkadelphia Public Schools, eStem Public Charter Schools, Hamburg School District, Little Rock School District, and Texarkana Arkansas School District were selected for first cohort, which focused on high-impact tutoring programs.

Under the 2026 initiative, each of five school districts will receive a $9,500 Spark Grant to participate in the program. The 14-month experience, guided by the Atlanta-based Center for Outcomes Based Contracting, includes expert-led workshops, personalized coaching sessions, access to proven tools, templates and data-tracking frameworks, written contract quality assurance and a fully designed OBC tailored to the district’s specific context.

As part of OBC, a substantial portion of the payment—at least 40%—is contingent on the service provider meeting agreed-upon, measurable student outcomes, such as improved literacy scores. In addition, districts often build in provider incentives for quality and innovation to achieve the metrics.

Throughout the process, Forward Arkansas said it will convene the five districts to share best practices and set the conditions for future statewide scaling.