LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday approved the establishment of a charter high school on the Arkansas Baptist College campus in Little Rock, a classical liberal arts charter school in Bentonville and a middle/high school in Pine Bluff - all sponsored by the same Texas charter-school organization.
Responsive Education Solutions of Lewisville, Texas,received approval for the Premier High School of Little Rock, which will target high school dropouts and students at risk of dropping out.
The organization will also establish the Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy in Bentonville and the Quest Middle School in Pine Bluff.
The three new charter schools, which are scheduled to open in August 2013, will bring the total number of independently run, taxpayer financed charter schools in Arkansas to a record high 19 if the existing 16 schools remain in operation for the 2013-14 school year.
In a day-long meeting Thursday, the Education Board rejected the Exalt Academy charter school that was proposed for grades kindergarten through eight in Pine Bluff and the KidSmart Cultural Arts Charter School that was proposed for the same grades in southwest Little Rock.
The Education Board withheld judgment on a sixth plan - the proposed America’s Charter School - which was described as a “blended, virtual high school” that would be based in Lincoln in Washington County but has the potential to serve students statewide.
Responsive Education Solutions currently operates more than 60 open-enrollment charter schools serving about 10,000 students across Texas. The organization last year had proposed establishing a charter high school in Texarkana - also focused on students at risk of dropping out of school or already out of school - but that was narrowly rejected by the Education Board.
Charles Cook, chief executive officer for Responsive Education, said after Thursday’s meeting that he was elated about the Arkansas board’s latest votes.
“We listened to the state board, which asked us to come back with more community support,” Cook said about the difference between the rejected 2011 proposal and the plans offered this year.
“As our name represents, we are responsive,” he said. “We went into the last six to nine months, just coming in and looking at what the needs are, talking to community leaders, talking to parents and finding out that these three cities had three distinct needs. With our 13 years of history ... we felt we could do a great job in the three areas and serve those kids.”
The Texas organization will serve as a charter management organization to the three schools and their Arkansas board of directors. Each of the three Arkansas schools will pay up to 15 percent of their state revenue to the Texas organization in return for curriculum materials, financial management, marketing and other support services.
Premier High will serve up to 240 students in grades nine through 12 in what will be a new building on the Arkansas Baptist College campus in central Little Rock.
Premier, which will be modeled after Responsive Education schools in Texas, will use both self-directed and teacher-led instruction in a setting where there is a one-to-one computer-to-student ratio. The materials for the core and elective coursesare written by Responsive Education.
Fitz Hill, president of Arkansas Baptist College, urged the Education Board to approve the plan.
“I was a bit apprehensive when Charles Cook came to my institution, but as I listened to his story and listened to what he has done, I felt like this was a perfect fit for our community,” Hill said, adding that the issue of high school dropouts is one that weighs on his heart.
“I have seen Premier school be a problem-solver for dropouts,” he said. “I thought this was a perfect approach to be able to make a difference for the least of these.”
The Education Board voted 6-1 for Premier over the objections of the Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts. Board member Alice Mahony was the sole no vote.
Chris Heller, an attorney for the Little Rock district, argued that the charter school has a tight budget, it doesn’t plan to offer transportation beyond city bus passes and its enrollment isn’t limited to at-risk students but is open to any student.
“I’m concerned that the school could turn into more or less a prep school for Arkansas Baptist rather than a dropout recovery program,” Heller said.
The Little Rock district is challenging in federal court the state board’s approval of independently run charter schools in Pulaski County. The district argues that the state’s approval of charter schools violates its 1989 agreement to support Pulaski County desegregation efforts.
If the district is successful in the court case, restrictions could be imposed on charter school operations and growth in Pulaski County. U.S. District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. is expected to issue a decision at any time on the charter-school dispute.
Heller proposed on Thursday that the state board withhold action on any new charter schools in Pulaski County until a ruling is issued in the federal case.
Earlier, the Education Board voted 7-0 - without opposition from the Bentonville School District - for the Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, which will be modeled on a similar school in Lewisville, Texas.
Cindy Palen, a Bentonville parent, told the Education Board that while Bentonville had thriving schools, parents had sought out educational options, settling on Responsive Education’s classical liberal arts program.
The school - which will serve kindergarten through eighth grade and expand over time to 12th grade for a total of 685 students - will feature the study of logic, expression and languages, including Latin. Grammar, phonics, and the works of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates will be part of the program.
The Education Board voted 4-3 to support Responsive Education Solutions’ proposed Quest Middle School of Pine Bluff to be located within the boundaries of the Dollarway School District.
Quest will serve grades five to eight but plans to expand to a maximum enrollment of 460 students through grade 12 over time.
“It’s a triple threat,” said Pine Bluff resident Larry Freeman, who spoke in support of the proposal. “Love of students, the love of learning and the love of student success are what we are about promoting.”
Chief Learning Officer Alan Wimberley said Quest will use diagnostic tests to place students in classes.
“It takes them back to the point of what they don’t know, and they start from there,” Wimberley said.
State board members Jay Barth, Mireya Reith and Mahony voted against the plan, saying they were concerned about the school’s potential effect on the Dollarway district, which is operating under state control after its high school failed to meet state accreditation standards for two consecutive years.
Earlier Thursday, the board tabled a vote on the 500-student America’s Charter School proposed by retired Superintendent Frank Holman until Holman can solidify agreements with education cooperatives and school districts to assist in testing students.
Students in the school would do the bulk of their studies and group projects online with support from teachers. The program would target but is not limited to high school students in Washington and Benton counties who have left school or are likely to leave before graduation.
The board voted 5-2 against the Exalt School that was proposed by the same organization that operates Little Rock Preparatory Academy because of the Exalt School’s potential effect on enrollment in Pine Bluff and Dollarway, lack of student bus transportation and a lack of a “mature” education plan.
Board members voted 7-0 to deny a charter to the KidSmart program because of concerns about the educational program.
Arkansas, Pages 9 on 11/02/2012