The IDEA Public Charter Schools Arkansas organization is giving up plans -- at least for now -- to open two open-enrollment charter school campuses in central Arkansas.
The sponsoring organization of the two planned kindergarten-through-12th grade campuses in Pulaski County recently sent notice to Arkansas education leaders about the change, attributing it in part to "dramatically increased start-up and operating costs."
"It is with a heavy heart that IDEA Public Schools Arkansas hereby surrenders its charter, granted by the state Board of Education on September 9, 2021, which authorized it to launch schools starting in 2023 (later amended to 2024)," Dan Fishman, senior vice president for growth, wrote.
Fishman's letter is on the agenda for review at today's 9 a.m. Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel meeting.
"While IDEA remains committed to getting students from under-served communities to and through college, and while IDEA hopes to one day be able to serve students and families throughout Arkansas, current conditions do not allow it to proceed with planned launches in Arkansas," Fishman wrote.
"The combination of dramatically increased start-up and operating costs, coupled with the need to focus on existing IDEA regions, has led IDEA to this decision," he continued. "We apologize for any inconvenience this causes you and hope that, with your permission, IDEA is able to work together with local communities in the future to educate Arkansas students."
The charter school organization, started more than 20 years ago, operates 143 IDEA charter schools in Texas, Ohio, Florida and southern Louisiana, according to its website.
IDEA stands for Individuals Dedicated to Excellence and Achievement.
The organization had received Arkansas approval in 2021 to open two campuses within the borders of the Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school districts, beginning with the 2023-24 school year.
Each of the campuses was to start with kindergarten, first-, second- and sixth-grades in their inaugural year, and eventually grow to offer kindergarten-through-12th grades.
Earlier this year, the charter school planners had asked for and received from Arkansas education leaders permission to delay opening until the 2024-25 school year. The extra time was needed to train school leaders in the IDEA school model and "to secure facilities that allow us to serve communities where demand and need are greatest," the school planners said.
No specific locations for the schools were ever publicly announced.
The organization's mission is preparing students from under-served communities for success in college and for citizenship. Planners told Arkansas charter school authorizers in 2021 that the elementary and middle school programs would include standardized testing three times a year to track progress and a "critical student intervention" strategy to help low-achieving students to make two years of academic growth in a single year.
School plans also called for high school students to take at least 11 Advanced Placement courses along with courses on how to attend and get through college. The students were to visit at least 10 colleges and universities, and apply to a minimum of six -- all with the guidance of school-employed college counselors. One hundred percent of IDEA graduates are accepted into college annually, the school planners said in 2021.
Arkansas has issued 24 charters in this 2022-23 school year for the operation of open-enrollment, public charter schools that are run by non-profit organizations other than traditional school districts.