Under the governor, Legislature, state Board of Education, and commissioner of education's leadership, student-focused accountability of Arkansas' public schools, aligned with the federal government's Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), has rightfully taken center stage.
On April 11, the Arkansas Department of Education released its A-F grades for public schools and State Accountability Scores, based on performance, growth, student success, school quality, and in the case of high schools, graduation rates.
In the first year of Superintendent Michael Poore's administration (2016-17), there was good news for the Little Rock School District. Of the 1,065 public schools--traditional and charter--in Arkansas:
• Only two districts/charters had two schools in the state's Top 10 scorers--Haas Hall Academy (Fayetteville and Bentonville) and Little Rock School District (Fair Park and Roberts)
• 6 percent (5) of the state's 83 "A" elementary schools were in the district (Forest Park, Roberts, Williams, Jefferson, Forest Heights STEM K-5)
• Forest Heights STEM 6-8 was also one of state's 46 "A" middle schools
• In its first year, Pinnacle View Middle was one of the state's 58 "B" middle schools
• Parkview was among the state's 86 "B" high schools
While the district had three "F" elementary schools, one--Franklin--was closed, along with Wilson ("D"), at the conclusion of last school year. Three of the district's five high schools also received an "F," but two--Fair and McClellan--will be consolidated into a new, state-of-the-art Little Rock Southwest High School in 2020.
The once high-performing Hall High School, which had been allowed to decline for two decades, received the lowest score of any high school in Arkansas. But it began this year as a School of Innovation, led by Dr. Mark Roberts, a proven, turnaround principal of 20 years, most recently of Aurora (Colo.) Central High School, a diverse school of 2,200.
As a community, when including fellow school district--Pulaski County Special--and charter neighbors--LISA Academy and eStem Public Charter Schools, Little Rock had the second most "A" schools (11) of any city in Arkansas, surpassed only by Mr. Poore's former home, Bentonville, with 16.
Then on April 12, the department released its list of Reward Schools--the 175 Top 10 percent performing and improving schools in Arkansas. With an estimated $100 per student for Top 5 percent schools and $50 per student for Top 6-10 percent, district schools received a total of $314,571.60, including second-highest school Reward in state--$170,261.28 to Roberts ($85,130 for Top 5 percent performance, $85,130 for Top 5 percent growth); and sixth-highest total district Rewards in state, behind Springdale, Bentonville, Greenbrier, Fort Smith and Fayetteville.
While A-F and Reward Schools were the culmination of last year's work, we already knew the district's academic performance was trending in the right direction.
In the first year of the Poore administration, the district was one of only 12 school districts and one charter in the entire state to improve cumulative ACT Aspire scores in each grade. Nine district elementary schools experienced combined double-digit improvement last year. The outlier was Bale, which had a combined double-digit drop, losing 5 points in ELA and 7 in STEM.
Other accomplishments last year and this include:
• U.S. Department of Education named Roberts Elementary National Blue Ribbon School
• Low-enrollment Franklin, Wilson, Hamilton, Woodruff closed
• Second lien bonds approved to build, refurbish student facilities
• Ground broken for Little Rock Southwest High School
• Highest projected revenue in district, state history ($351 million)
But it's not enough.
In 2012, the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading announced its goal: "All Arkansas children will read at grade level by the end of the third grade." At the current rate of growth, it will take the Little Rock School District 227 years to achieve that goal and 60 years just to achieve 50 percent.
With 31/2 years of progress under the state's leadership, two of those under Mr. Poore, formidable academic challenges persist, requiring long overdue, drastic action: Over half--14 of 27--of the district's elementary schools received a "D"(12) or "F" (2). Three of five high schools are among the bottom five high schools in Arkansas. Grades 3 through 10 reading readiness is 32 percent (9 points below abysmal state average), while Grade 11 is 26 percent (4 points below state average). Industry-relevant pathways to the region's high wage careers are unavailable to a vast majority of students. Historically gerrymandered attendance zone and preferential admissions deny equal access for all.
While adults and systems tend to think and act in terms of years and/or contracts, truly student-focused education requires urgency, with immediate, results-driven action.
Because the Little Rock School District's leadership has greater autonomy, authority and resources than any school district in Arkansas, the best interests of all students must immediately be prioritized over the self-interests of any adults. The present and future of Little Rock, the region, and the state depend on it.
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Gary Newton is CEO of Arkansas Learns and a resident of and taxpayer in the Little Rock School District. He may be reached at gnewton@ArkansasLearns.org and followed @ArkansasLearns.
Editorial on 05/24/2018