A panel of top-level staff members at the Arkansas Department of Education on Thursday denied approval for a proposed open-enrollment charter school in Paron in a school building formerly operated by the Bryant School District.
The state's Charter Authorizing Panel also on Thursday approved an amendment to the state charter issued in 2014 to Ozark Montessori Academy in Springdale. That amendment would allow the charter school to operate with a ratio of 2 adults to as many as 30 pupils per classroom.
The Paron Community Trust applied for a charter to open the Paron Charter School in a building that initially served the Paron School District before the Paron district merged into the Bryant district several years ago. The Bryant district closed the Paron campus in 2015 and transferred ownership of the 9-acre campus -- 22265 Arkansas 9, Paron -- to the trust.
The trust's plan called for an environmental-based education program that would start with about 60 elementary pupils and grow over time to an enrollment of 250 students, including high school. The school would rely on a blend of traditional classroom instruction and online teaching from an online education company. Partnerships with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service, the 4-H youth organization and the state Game and Fish Commission, as well as with area forestry industries, were among the highlighted features of the application.
Jamie Mullins, secretary of the Paron Community Trust, told the state panel that the application was not as "polished" as some applications that are presented to the panel but that the trust was trying to provide kids with community support and educational opportunities close to their homes in the wake of Bryant closing the Paron campus.
"Our kids have been dealt some stiff blows, and they want to come back home," Mullins said.
In response to questions from panel members, Mullins said she was confident that the school -- which would be financially subsidized by the trust -- could attract at least 50 elementary pupils in its first year. The pupils would be served by two classroom teachers, a part-time special-education teacher and online instructors. Art, music, gifted education and guidance-counseling services would be provided by the online education service or by the community partners, she said.
Panel members; Education Department attorney Jennifer Davis; Mullins; and Candy Webb, also of the Paron Community Trust, worked at some length Thursday to identify the waivers from state rules, laws and parts of laws that the proposed school would need to accomplish the school's mission.
Mark Gotcher, deputy commissioner of the Education Department and a panel member, ultimately told the Paron community leaders that while he appreciated their passion for developing a school, the quality of the proposal and the capacity of the sponsoring organization to carry out the plan were concerns.
Panel members briefly discussed approving the proposal conditioned on the school planners returning in the spring to report on student enrollment and finances. They voted down a motion to table action on the proposal until the panel's October meeting and then voted 6-2 to deny the application.
"While I understand the passion and desire to restore educational opportunities in the community, many of my concerns remain unresolved," Education Department Assistant Commissioner Annette Barnes, a panel member, said about her vote to deny approval.
"I share the concerns expressed by my colleagues regarding sustainability, educational success and the other critical components to a startup of a public charter," Barnes continued. "At this time, too many responses are dependent upon 'We may' and 'We hope' and etc., and so I am unable to support approval today."
Ivy Pfeffer, the Education Department's assistant commissioner for teacher effectiveness and a member of the Charter Authorizing Panel, said her heart told her to approve the proposal but her head said no.
Gotcher urged that applicants draw on the expertise of the Education Department staff and the Arkansas Public School Resource Center to refine and resubmit their application for a school to open a year later, in 2018-19.
Stacy Smith, the assistant commissioner for learning services, and Greg Rogers, assistant commissioner for fiscal and administrative services, voted against denying the application.
Smith said the application differs from other applications in that the Paron organization has ready access to a building and identified community partners. She also said that the Bryant district has overcrowding problems that could be relieved in part by the charter. To give them no opportunity to come back this year seems unfair, Smith said about the Paron planners.
The panel's decisions on the Paron school and on the Ozark Montessori Academy's request to allow classrooms of two adults and up to 30 children will go to the Arkansas Board of Education for final votes.
State standards cap kindergarten enrollment at 20 pupils per teacher and 22 if there is a half-time aide in the class. State standards cap the average class size for first through third grade at 23, with no more than 25 in any one class. The cap for fourth through sixth grade is an average 25 pupils with no more than 28 in any one class.
The state Education Board may accept the panel's decisions or conduct its own hearing on one or both proposals and make final decisions at that point. Planners of a school or an amendment may ask for the state Education Board review or the Education Board can, on its own initiative, conduct a hearing on a plan.
A Section on 08/19/2016