Springdale Board Finds Home For Innovation School

Springdale's new School of Innovation will move to a permanent location on the east side of the city in August 2016.

The School Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to build a campus for up to 1,000 eighth- through 12th-graders on property near the southeast corner of East Robinson Avenue and Hylton Road across from Lakeside Junior High School.

"For the city of Springdale and the students of Springdale, it's an innovative way to provide education," Board President Mike Luttrell said.

The school opened this year with 200 eighth-graders in leased space at the Jones Center. The state Department of Education approved the school under Act 601 of 2013, which allows districts of innovation to be granted waivers from some regulations for traditional schools.

The waiver for Springdale's school allows it to deviate from a long-standing tradition of awarding credit based on time spent in class. Instead, students earn credit for high school classes once they prove they have mastered all concepts of a course.

Students' classes blend face-to-face time with teachers in classrooms with Internet-based programs, allowing them to progress through courses at their own pace, Principal Joe Rollins said.

The student body meets in 14,000 square feet of space at The Jones Center, but the school population will outgrow that space with the addition of another class of 200 students for the 2015-16 school year, Rollins said. School officials are exploring options for a larger temporary location while the permanent site is under construction, Rollins said.

The plan for the school's permanent home on Hylton Road is a $22 million campus with three learning or innovation zones with flexible spaces that will accommodate face-to-face instruction, large group presentations and group work, Rollins said.

The permanent site will open initially with about 600 students in grades eight through 10 with room to grow to 1,000 students in grades eight through 12, Rollins said.

The cost of the new campus will be paid from a combination of district and state money, Superintendent Jim Rollins said.

Jim Rollins told the School Board on Tuesday discussion continues across the nation about preparing students for careers and college, but the motivation behind the district's new model for high school is to prepare students to innovate and compete.

"It represents approaching learning in a way we had not stretched to," Jim Rollins said. "We have the chance to change the landscape of the delivery of our instruction."

NW News on 01/14/2015

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