The state Board of Education decided Thursday to continue to keep a close eye on the Pine Bluff School District, which has nearly half of its traditional schools in academic trouble. The district has been using a University of Virginia school-improvement model, which Education Department officials have said has helped. The university has committed to the Pine Bluff district a year at a time and has had a better relationship with the district this year, Wilde said. The School Improvement Unit is working alongside the University of Virginia to have a unified plan to elevate student achievement.