Arkansas Communication & Theatre Arts Association

🎙️📢 Calling all Arkansas speech & debate students!
Camp ACTAA is back and better than ever — and it’s FREE & VIRTUAL 🎉
🗓️ July 29-June 3
📍 Online via Google Meet
🎓 Hosted by ACTAA’s Student Advisory Board
This is your chance to sharpen your skills, try new events, and get real feedback from experienced coaches and peers — all from the comfort of home! Whether you're just starting out or ready to level up, there's something for YOU.
✅ Flexible sessions
✅ Demo rounds + critiques
✅ 1:1 coaching
✅ Opportunities to LEAD as a student instructor!
👉 Registration today at actaa.org/camp!

Congratulations, Matthew!

One of the highest NSDA honors is Student of the Year. Today, our five finalists will meet and have their final interview. We couldn't be more excited to get to meet these inspirational competitors. 🏆

Today, ACTAA joins Arkansans across the state in celebrating the 190th anniversary of Arkansas statehood.

Our state motto, Regnat Populus — “The People Rule” — reminds us that democracy depends upon informed, engaged citizens who can think critically, communicate effectively, and participate in meaningful civic dialogue. The study and practice of communication, theatre, debate, and public expression remain essential educational experiences that prepare students to contribute to their communities and our democracy.

As Arkansas approached its 90th year of statehood in 1926, Governor John E. Martineau emphasized the importance of “a stronger educational system that will open doors of opportunity for our citizens and ensure young people can engage in debate and the citizenry key to our nation’s democracy.” His words continue to resonate a century later.

On this Arkansas Day, ACTAA celebrates the educators, students, and institutions that foster civil discourse, creative expression, and civic engagement throughout our state. Through communication and the arts, we help ensure that Regnat Populus remains more than a motto—it remains a lived practice.

🎉 Best of luck to all the incredible Arkansas students competing this week at the National Speech & Debate Tournament in Richmond, VA! Your hard work, talent, and dedication have already made us proud. Go show the nation what Arkansas excellence looks like — break a leg! 👏🗣️

🎭🎤 Speech, Debate, and Theatre Educators—join us for the ACTAA Summer Workshop, July 12–14, 2026, at Mount St. Mary Academy in Little Rock!

Connect with colleagues, gain new ideas, participate in professional development, and help shape the future of communication and theatre education in Arkansas.

Attendance is typically limited to 30–40 educators, so register early to secure your spot!

📍 July 12–14, 2026
📍 Mount St. Mary Academy | Little Rock
🔗 Register: ACTAA.org/summer

Congratulations, Wayne!

Heritage High School and Rogers Public Schools is proud to announce that Mr. Wayne Levering has been selected by the University of Arkansas and the TEDx Stage to speak at TEDx Capital View held at the Hilton Convention Center in Little Rock on June 2nd, 2026.

This was an intensive and extensive selection process, and we are excited for Mr. Levering to be able to showcase our wonderful district and Heritage High School.
Taking place June 2–3, 2026, in Little Rock Arkansas, the Coaching Convergence Conference brings together practitioners from across the region & country to connect, learn, and engage around the principles of Cognitive Coaching and Adaptive Schools.

The two-day, immersive learning experience is designed for educators, coaches, and school leaders committed to deepening their impact through powerful thinking, collaboration, and continuous growth by using stronger coaching practices, collective efficacy, and systems that support adult and student learning.

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In a world filled with division and hate, nurturing a generation of ethical, empathetic and respectful communicators, critical independent-thinkers and leaders is one of the most important roles of our profession.

This June 🌈, ACTAA encourages members to reflect on the significance of our disciplines and the crucial role of providing a safe space for students to learn how to effectively express their ideas, provide criticism and engage with their communities.

“For nearly one hundred years, ACTAA has committed itself to promote educational opportunities for the students of Arkansas to think for themselves, speak their passion, and act to serve others in order to transform their communities through the use of effective ethical communication as an essential discipline, life skill, and art form. It is the nature of debate, forensics, acting, and public speaking to exist in a learning community that provides an environment that promotes the self-expression of student-developed ideas, criticism, and discussion of, and engagement in, the widest range of opinions. Whether the activity is debate, forensics, acting, or public speaking, whether it’s hosting a competition or instruction of communication and theatre arts in the classroom, whether it’s constructing an argument or discovering a piece of literature, or all the above, Arkansas Academic Standards require educators of these disciplines to provide students a platform to learn how to positively and professionally formulate their independent feelings & thoughts and communicate or express said thoughts to others respectfully.”

(ACTAA Professional & Ethical Standards of Conduct, 2024; ACTAA Organizational Handbook pg. 27)