FARMINGTON -- After 20 years in Farmington as a head football coach, teacher, assistant principal, eighth-grade principal, assistant superintendent and then school superintendent, Bryan Law will become director of the Northwest Arkansas Education Service cooperative, starting July 1.
Law can step out the front door of his office and see where he's moving, across the street and only about 100 yards away into what once was called the "round building" by Farmington school patrons.
The cooperative's board, made up of the superintendents of 16 Northwest Arkansas school districts in Washington, Benton and Madison counties, voted unanimously last week to make Law the next director, following Charles Cudney, who is retiring in June after six years as director.
The board interviewed its two top candidates, Law and Pea Ridge Superintendent Rick Neal on Jan. 7 and voted on filling the position two days later on Jan. 9.
Andrea Martin, cooperative board president and superintendent of Greenland School District, said the decision between the two superintendents was not an easy one, but she said the fact that both came from within the cooperative is a testament to the strength of the superintendents in Northwest Arkansas.
'Great Integrity'
Martin described Law as a genuine person with great integrity.
"What you see is what you get," Martin said. "The board was very confident with his leadership in the cooperative role."
Personally, Martin said she's excited about Law being the next director because he relates well to small school districts and large districts and understands what it takes to operate both.
"He's a good mentor for a lot of superintendents and there's no question, he's very trustworthy," Martin said, adding she looks forward to his leading the cooperative into the future.
Cudney also said he's excited that Law will step into the director's role.
"Obviously, it's very important to me because I've spent time here and dedicated my time here," Cudney said. "It's very important to me to leave it in good hands."
Law is a proven professional educator in Farmington, Cudney said. He builds strong relationships with people and knows how important it is to invest in the staff involved in an organization, Cudney said.
"I'm leaving it with someone who will continue the work we've done here and will continue to make it even better as time goes on," he said.
Cudney said the cooperative has 101 employees and a $7.5 million budget. Its main office is in Farmington but it also has offices in Springdale and Rogers and has staff stationed in the Rogers and Siloam Springs school districts.
Arriving In Farmington
Law came to Farmington in 1999-2000 as a high school teacher and head football coach from the Clarksville School District, with only the aspiration of being a coach, Law said.
However, after coming here, he said Mike Gray, his superintendent at the time, took him aside, saying he thought Law possessed some skills that would make him a good administrator.
"That's when I started the process," Law said.
Law is in his 32nd year as an educator with 18 of those years in administration. He's served as Farmington superintendent for seven years, since the 2012-13 school year, and as an assistant superintendent for about seven years before that.
Good Time For A Move
The cooperative opening came at a good time, Law said, from a career standpoint and from a personal standpoint.
His wife, Liz, is an only child and will inherit the family farm in Madison County. Law said they knew at some point they would end up over there and had already made the decision to build their new home in that area.
However, he said "in his heart," he believed he should live in Farmington as superintendent of the school district. If he and his wife had moved to Madison County while he was still superintendent, "I would have had a turmoil inside myself if I didn't live here," Law said.
"That's a Bryan Law requirement," Law said, "not a board requirement."
The cooperative job opens the door for him to eventually move to Madison County and still live within the boundaries of his new job, he said.
From a professional standpoint, Law said he's 57 years old and believes he's still young enough to "step outside the box, go through the learning process and do something along the way."
In some ways, the cooperative director position is similar to a superintendent's position. In other ways, Law said he will have a lot to learn.
He said he plans to use some of his vacation days to go to meetings in Little Rock with Cudney and to meet with him to work on the transition.
The cooperative provides professional development and assistance in new programs, new ideas and new initiatives to the 16 school districts in this region, Law said. Another component of the organization is to come up with new programs to improve instruction.
The cooperative also serves as the liaison between districts and the Arkansas Legislature during legislative sessions. Law already has been involved in this as a cooperative representative during the past two sessions.
Law said he is looking forward to working with the 16 school districts and serving those teachers and students. He said his plan will be to follow what he did when he became Farmington superintendent.
"I've had the opportunity to watch a lot of great education leaders," Law said, in particular pointing to Ron Wright. Law served as an assistant superintendent under Wright and then became school superintendent when Wright resigned to head up the Dawson Education Service Cooperative in Arkadelphia.
"When he came, he would see how things went, learn the culture and school values. Then he would begin to form an opinion and make changes."
Law said that will be his plan as cooperative director.
"That's an excellent cooperative over there," Law said. "My job is to learn the co-op, their culture and the vision of the 16 superintendents."
Accomplishments In Farmington
Law can recall when he served under Wright's leadership. He remembers Wright coming into his office with something under his arm.
He said Wright asked him, "What do you know about school facilities?" Law's response was,"What I learned in class."
Wright plopped a packet on Law's desk and told him, "You're now in charge of the Master School Facilities Plan." Law attended his first training on it the next day.
Law points to new school facilities as some of the accomplishments of Farmington School District.
In the past five years, Farmington has opened a new basketball arena, new performing arts center, new high school, new football stadium, track and indoor practice facility.
Law said he is proudest of the performing arts center.
The district already had gyms and fields for different sports, but it did not have anything for fine arts. Law said he knew the district made the right choice when enrollment for drama jumped from 25 kids to 167 kids the first year after the performing arts center opened.
"I knew then we'd missed a group of kids we hadn't touched," Law said. "That's not to say, I'm not proud of the other facilities."
Other accomplishments are the district's strong salary schedule, test scores and outstanding staff, he said. The district has started new programs at the high school, including nursing classes and video production.
"This is a wonderful school district," Law said. "I've been blessed to work here and blessed to work with good school boards. They've been very supportive and I appreciate that."
He said he's also grateful for the many relationships he, his wife and two children have made in the district that have continued over the years. He said his family has been supportive of his education journey. Both of his children are grown, have started their own professions and have chosen to stay in Northwest Arkansas.
"I'm proud of my family and so grateful for my family," Law said.
General News on 01/15/2020