LITTLE ROCK — A record 12 applications to establish independently run charter schools - six of them in Pulaski County - will be reviewed early next month by the Arkansas Board of Education.
Besides Little Rock and North Little Rock, the openenrollment charter schools are proposed for Tontitown in the Springdale School District and in Fayetteville in Northwest Arkansas, as well as in Brinkley, Helena, Osceola and Humphrey in the state's eastern half.
Publicly financed charter schools by definition can be more innovative than traditional schools and, in that vein, one of the proposed schools would be a "blended virtual school," meaning instruction would be given both in a traditional classroom and over the Internet to a child's home or other location.
One of the proposed schools would target 16- to 22-year-olds who have dropped out of high school. Another proposed school in the state's rural southeast would emphasize economics, technology and even Mandarin Chinese to better prepare students for work in a global economy.
Several of the proposed schools, including three inthe heart of downtown Little Rock, plan to emphasize math, science and technology in their curricula.
Some of the proposed schools plan to operate longer school days - to 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. most afternoons - and longer school years when compared with traditional public schools.
The Education Board is taking the unusual step of scheduling a two-day meeting, Nov. 5 and 6, to hear the presentations on the proposed schools. The board doesn't necessarily have to decide then on each school. However, Julie Johnson Thompson, a spokesman for the department, said Tuesday that the earlierthan-usual dates for presentation would give the approved schools more time to prepare to open by August 2008.
Open-enrollment charter schools are operated by not-forprofit organizations other than school districts. The charter schools, of which 10 now operate with an enrollment of 2,682, receive $5,770 per student just as traditional schools receive this year. The state aid follows the students from a regular school within a district to an independent charter school.
"When people were first talking about the legislation to allow charter schools, there were some real concerns," Tom Kimbrell, executive director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators, an organization for superintendents, said Tuesday about the potential for regular schools to lose state money.
"But they haven't seen the charter schools make a tremendous impact on their numbers. Now I know the Little Rock School Board has taken a position opposing charter schools. Their concern is the sheer number of charter schools, but most of our areas [in Arkansas] aren't seeing that large a number of schools wanting to come in."
Linda Watson, interim superintendent of the Little Rock district, whose 26,757 students make it the state's largest, agreed that the effect on the district depends on the number of schools approved and their enrollment.
Pulaski County, which has three public school districts, is home to three charter schools with a total enrollment of 1,058, including 244 at the newest Dreamland Academy charter school.
"If all six proposed schools are approved, they could enroll as many as 1,000 students," Watson said Tuesday. "If you multiply that by $5,770, that's quite a bit. If you pull those from our schools" - and she noted that some students would come from other districts and private schools - "we'll have to consider how it affects our teachers in terms of their salaries and/or jobs. It could affect what we do for the next school year."
Valerie L. Tatum is applying to the state for the second time to open Covenant Keepers College Preparatory School at 706 Geyer Springs Road in Little Rock for 180 middle-schoolers and eventually high school students.
Plans call for the school to offer college preparation and access to good job training through partnerships with community resources for those not going to college.
A 15-year educator and holder of a doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Tatum said she became interested in charter schools through her observations of the schools elsewhere in the nation and by the high test scores and parent involvement that she saw when her own children were enrolled at Academics Plus Charter School in Maumelle.
"The Little Rock School District is providing some things that students need," Tatum said. "But I do believe we have to move out of the traditional way of teaching. We have to do some innovative things."
To those who say charter schools take needed resources from the traditional schools, Tatum said a close check of successful charter schools reveals innovations, more teacher and student interaction in a smaller setting, and teachers who have broader experiences and expertise to share with students.
Caroline Proctor, director of the Charter School ResourceCenter at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and the contact for the three proposed schools in downtown Little Rock, said Tuesday that the state Education Board last year approved three charter schools out of 11 applications. She feels hopeful that five or six of the applicants will gain approval this year. She has encouraged applicants to take their time to develop proposals, maybe as long as 18 months.
"Our role now is to make sure the applications are as strong as they can be and of high quality," she said. "The numbers won't help us if they aren't high quality."
The proposed schools are:
Bridges Charter School in Little Rock for 360 pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade. The school would be housed in the former Arkansas Gazette building and would offer a program in economics, technology, math, engineering and Latin, known as e-STEM.
First Things First Charter School, also to be housed in the former Gazette building, for nearly 400 pupils in grades five through eight. The sciences, math and engineering again would be emphasized along with Spanish.
First Things First CharterSchool for 100 students in grade nine initially. Grades 10 through 12 would be added and all would be housed at the Gazette building. The high school would be a continuation of the e-STEM program in the lower grades.
Little Scholars of Arkansas, or LISA Academy in North Little Rock, which would start with 300 pupils in kindergarten through eighth grade and expand to 12th grade and 500 students. The college preparatory school would focus on math and science instruction with an emphasis on academic competition. The school is similar to the LISA Academy charter school already operating in Little Rock.
Little Scholars of Arkansas, or LISA Academy, in Tontitown in the Springdale School District, which would at first serve 300 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and expand over time to 12th grade and 500 students.
Covenant Keepers College Preparatory Charter School, which would offer strict academic and intellectual stimulation as well as training in self-discipline to as many as 180 students in grades six through 12 in Little Rock to prepare them for college or the work force.
Learning for Life Academy In Little Rock, designed to help as many as 150 pupils in grades four through eight "catch up" and master the core academic subjects as a way to give them a strong foundation for higher education.
Perkins Academy of Fine Arts, proposed for Cherry Street in Helena for 150 pupils in kindergarten through fourth grade, which would focus on core academic subjects with the addition of the fine arts including dance and piano.
Osceola Communication Arts and Business School, designed for as many as 375 students ages 16 to 22 who have dropped out of school. The school that will offer diploma and General Educational Development certificate programs as well as training for jobs in the area.
Delta YES Connections Academy, based in Brinkley, would partner with Connections Academy, a national provider of virtual school curriculum and school management services to operate a "blended" virtual school where students would receive instruction at a learning center in Brinkley and at remote settings over the Internet. The school would first serve 150 students in grades six through 12 and then grow to 500.
School of Excellence, which would serve as many as 160 in grades sixth through 12 in the Humphrey community. The school would aims to prepare students for a global economy with instructional emphasis on international business, economics and foreign languages including Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.
Northwest Arkansas Science and Math Intermediate in Fayetteville would provide an accelerated and hands-on science, technology, engineering and math program for high school preparation for up to 225 students in grades six through eight.
Arkansas, Pages 11, 16 on 10/24/2007