SPRINGDALE — Har-Ber High School’s accreditation will remain on probation for this school year.
The Arkansas Board of Education voted 4-1 on Monday to deny an appeal by district administrators to change the accreditation status. Arkansas Department of Education officials placed the school on probation in July because of a certification issue with the last year’s Mandarin Chinese teacher.
“It’s certainly a disappointing series of events,” Springdale School District Superintendent Jim Rollins said.
The dissenting vote was cast by Sherry Burrow of Jonesboro. Other members at the meeting were Brenda Gullett of Fayetteville, Ben Mays of Clinton, Toyce Newton of Crossett and Samuel Ledbetter of Little Rock.
Naccaman Williams, board chairman and a Springdale resident, was present, but he usually doesn’t vote except to break ties.
The district will be taken off probation after this year if there are no further violations. There are no penalties for the first year.
Michelle Fries taught one section of Chinese last year in addition to teaching senior English classes. She received a provisional teaching license for English but should not have taught outside her subject area under department rules.
The provisional certificate was a one-year license. Teachers cannot get exceptions to teach outside the subject area until they earn a standard license, said Julie Thompson, department spokeswoman.
The problem was not discovered until a spring semester visit by department accreditation officials. The teacher’s experiences include living in China for nine years, but the department rejected giving her a waiver to teach Chinese.
Fries declined to comment on the matter Monday.
Thompson said the bottom line is all classes must be taught by a properly certified instructor in accordance with department rules and procedures. This applies to elective and required courses.
“While we don’t think anyone was doing anything purposely, it is still a violation of the standards,” Thompson said.
Rollins said he appreciates the school’s attempt to offer the class as part of a diverse curriculum offering. Har-Ber principals will try to find a teacher who meets the certification requirements so the class can be taught again.
Har-Ber is the only school to appeal its accreditation status this year.