It was encouraging to see UALR and eStem trying to work through the late unpleasantness on campus. Something tells us that all the adults, including us, should have seen this a-coming.
Maybe freshmen-only high school campuses work so well because of the larger-than-just-numbers differences between 14-year-olds and 18-year-olds. (See Sylvan Hills.) So it shouldn't come as a surprise to note the differences between, say, the 14-year-old eStem freshman and the 25-year-old non-traditional mom working toward a degree in business administration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. When UALR gave space to eStem--still a good idea--somebody should have asked out loud: Are all these kids on campus going to disrupt the college atmosphere?
It seems as though a new lunch space and a few open classrooms might be the answer. Good fences, good neighbors, and all that. That's why they pay the administrators the big bucks: They can work it out. And apparently have. If this answer doesn't prove permanent, they'll have to try something else. We hope all involved--including the students of UALR, who have no problem speaking their mind or petitioning the administration for a redress of grievances--remain willing to work together.
For eStem, although filled with typical high school kids, is anything but typical. It's a public charter school, and the highest-rated high school in Little Rock. The paper said it serves more than 500 kids, about 4 in 10 of whom are on free or reduced lunch. And nearly 74 percent are non-white.
It received a B grade from the state last year. Compare that to the other high schools in Little Rock. Three of those schools, Hall, Fair and McClellan received Fs, the other two, Cs. We suppose other cities around the nation, and not just around the nation, would like to have a school like eStem in the city limits, serving these students, and serving them so well.
We hope UALR and eStem have a long, mutually beneficial relationship. It's just that sometimes, just like at home, the older folks have to have a little time away from the kids, just to catch our breath.
Editorial on 03/03/2019