The head of the Arkansas Military and First Responders Academy said Tuesday the first phase of his charter school is complete.
The U.S. Marine Corps has given the academy a Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps designation, about 200 teachers applied for the 13 jobs available and more than 80 cadets have registered for the coming school year, said Lt. Col. Jason Smedley, commandant of Arkansas' first military and first responder public school.
"We still have a few more slots," Smedley said. "So, if anyone is interested in registering, we take ninth and tenth grade. You don't have to join the military, you don't have to become a first responder. We are not a military school. We believe in a balance of accountability and empathy."
"They're teenagers, so they're going to make mistakes, but we want them to know what their mistakes are and how to learn from them in the best way."
The new charter school will be in compliance with the LEARNS Act by paying teachers the new minimum annual salary of $50,000, he added.
Officials gathered at the school at 10710 Interstate 30 in Little Rock to celebrate the opening. The dignitaries included Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
"Values like bravery, servant leadership, and patriotism -- I cannot think of a better set of ideas to instill in our young people, or a better way to prepare them for a lifetime of success," the governor told cadets, their families, community partners and veterans. "We are so proud of you and we are so proud of the work that will happen here and what it means for our country."
Paul Vallas, a former chief executive officer of Chicago public schools and founder of several military-themed public schools across the U.S., said Gary Stark, vice chairman of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, and Scott Smith, executive director of the Arkansas Public School Resource Center, had invited him to start one in Little Rock.
"Long story short, we did a search for a commandant ... we struck gold when we got Jason," Vallas said. "Not only did he have the records and background, but he was from Arkansas for cryin' out loud. How lucky can you get? Talk about the stars being aligned. Then he took it from there."
Every school Vallas has opened has "thrived" and almost always had a wait list to enroll.
Gallery: Ribbon cutting for Arkansas Military & First Responders Academy
"What's amazing here is the enthusiasm of the community and the leadership," he said. "You saw the turnout today. I mean, they had the governor. I don't think I've ever got the governor to go to one of my military academy public dedications," he said. "But at the end of the day, I think every model gets better than the previous model and it's not because of my genius, it's because of the innovations that the leadership bring to scale, and I think Jason's going to take them to the next level."
The work-study component of the academy is crucial to create jobs in an economy recovering from a pandemic, Vallas added.
Partnerships with local agencies will do just that.
The academy has teamed up with the Little Rock Police Department, the Pulaski County sheriff's office, the Little Rock Fire Department, Metropolitan Emergency Medical Services, the Arkansas National Guard, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Boys and Girls Club, Arkansas Fire Training Academy, Arkansas State Police, Arkansas Department of Emergency Management and the Forge Institute.
"I may have brought the idea to the table, but it was local foundations that supported us," Vallas said. "The board is almost all Arkansas. [Smedley] has assembled a really extraordinary board that brings things to the table. We used Arkansas lawyers to take it to the next level, Arkansas construction companies -- it's all homegrown. This is Arkansas. This is not me, this is Arkansas."
Vallas added that officials in Wisconsin gave him a call saying they want to be the next state to open a military academy.
"I look forward, maybe six months from now, bringing them all down here and you taking them through how you got this thing set up here," Vallas said to Smedley.
Erica Ingram, the first Black female colonel in the Arkansas National Guard in 215 years is now part of the academy board.
Smedley and Ingram have worked together before.
The board has sat in on teacher interviews, voted on and signed the lease and contracts for new hires.
"I really think that the discipline and the structure is really needed, so I'm just looking forward to seeing the cadets grow in the program," Ingram said.
She added that she was excited to see some female cadets because historically there have not been many.
"I think if we have two complete it," she said of the program, "Then we can have them tell the story and we'll find ourselves having no problem enrolling more."