Charter School Sector Growing In Northwest Arkansas

The number of students attending charter schools in Northwest Arkansas will increase by about 50 percent when two new schools open Monday.

Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, for grades kindergarten through eight, is opening on Melissa Drive in Bentonville, less than a mile from Walmart’s home office. The Rogers School District is launching its own charter high school, which emphasizes project-based learning.

The two new schools bring Benton and Washington counties’ charter school total to five. Their combined enrollment of about 2,358 represents about 3 percent of the number of public school students in the two counties.

Indications are the charter school presence in the region will continue to grow. A nonprofit group intends to open one in Springdale, pending state approval. Haas Hall Academy — a charter deemed by Newsweek the 83rd best public high school in the country — is planning to expand from leased office space in Fayetteville to a 17-acre campus on that city’s north side.

Arkansas will have 35 charter schools this fall. That includes 17 open-enrollment charter schools and 18 conversion charter schools. An open-enrollment charter school is run by a governmental entity, an institution of higher learning or a tax-exempt nonsectarian organization. It can draw students from anywhere in the state. Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, which is run by Texas-based Responsive Education Solutions, is an example of an open-enrollment charter.

A conversion charter school, such as Rogers’ New Tech High School, is a public school converted to a public charter school within a school district. It can draw only students from within the school district’s boundaries.

One of the biggest misconceptions about charter schools is they are not public, Ritter said. In fact, open-enrollment charter schools could be considered “more public” than traditional public schools, because they cannot exclude students based on residency, he said.

That’s why a charter school such as Benton County School of the Arts in Rogers draws about 35 percent of its students from outside the Rogers School District.

Paul Hines, Benton County School of the Arts superintendent, agreed with Ritter.

“It’s disappointing. People still think we’re a private school,” Hines said. “A lot of times, we’ll hear that we’re not held accountable to any state standards. Oh yes we are.”

Charter Performance

The state is getting a good deal with charter schools, said Gary Ritter, professor of education policy at the University of Arkansas.

“For the most part they cost less or as much as traditional public schools,” he said. “The second thing is that with the charters (in Northwest Arkansas) as well as the ones in Little Rock, there are several that are really adding good value, improving kids’ outcomes.”

There are good and bad charter schools, but that’s OK, Ritter said. That’s because they have two levels of accountability that don’t apply to traditional public schools.

Parents can simply withdraw their children from the charter school if they’re not happy with it, leaving some to close because of enrollment losses. Also, every charter school exists because it’s been authorized by the state Board of Education for a certain number of years. If the school is unsuccessful, the state probably won’t renew its charter, Ritter said.

The first charter schools in the nation opened in Minnesota in 1992. Charters schools are now in 42 states and the District of Columbia serving about 2.3 million students.

A recent study showed charter schools nationally have made modest progress in improving student performance in both reading and math, though charters in Arkansas haven’t fared quite as well.

The Center for Research on Education Outcomes at Stanford University released a national study in June showing improvement in the overall performance of charter schools since a similar study the center did in 2009. The most recent study showed charter school students have greater learning gains in reading than their peers in traditional public schools. Traditional schools and charter schools had equivalent learning gains in math, the study showed.

Charters are especially beneficial to low-income, disadvantaged and special education students, said Margaret Raymond, center director.

The study looked at charters in 26 states, including Arkansas. Contrary to national results, it showed Arkansas’ charter schools went from having a positive effect on student achievement in 2009 to a small negative effect in 2012. The report showed Arkansas charter students received the equivalent of 22 fewer days of math and reading instruction compared to their peers in traditional schools.

Patrick Wolf, a professor at the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform, said three low-performing schools — two in Little Rock and one in Osceola — opened and closed between 2009 and 2012.

“They pulled down the average for charters across the state,” Wolf said.

Local Results

Benton County School of the Arts had mixed results on its test scores last year, achieving lower scores than the Bentonville and Rogers school districts did in numerous categories. The school draws most of its students from those two districts.

But Wolf said one should be careful with snapshot comparisons of charter schools to school districts.

“It’s really the kids who are struggling in traditional public schools that are most likely to switch to a charter school. These schools of choice are actually attracting students who are performing at lower levels,” Wolf said.

Haas Hall Academy is one example of a charter that’s excelling. Now in its 10th year, Haas Hall boasts a 100 percent graduation rate, and nearly all of its students rate either proficient or advanced on state tests. This is despite the fact it receives the lowest per-pupil expenditure of any public school — traditional or charter — in Arkansas.

Demand for space at Haas Hall is high. There were 418 applicants for 70 available slots this year, according to Martin Schoppmeyer, superintendent. Students come from as far away as Fort Smith and Eureka Springs to attend. Admission, like at other open-enrollment charters, is based on a lottery system.

“We’re turning away so many people,” Schoppmeyer said. “It hurts to have parents in your office crying because they can’t get in.”

Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy, the charter school opening in Bentonville, received more than 900 applications earlier this year for 445 slots. Most parents interviewed during the school’s lottery in April said they were seeking a smaller-school feel or a more rigorous academic setting than what their students were getting in the traditional public school.

Charter Appeal

Robert Maranto, a professor in the University of Arkansas’ Department of Education Reform, said charter schools appeal most to students who are “bored, bullied or behind” in a traditional public school.

“Even good school districts can have a 25 percent dropout rate, and a certain percentage are just bored, or just need a smaller environment,” Maranto said. “There are some parents who just want something different, or their kids aren’t doing as well there, maybe because they’re uncomfortable in really big schools.”

Schoppmeyer agreed with Maranto’s assessment.

“A lot of our kids were being bullied in traditional public schools because they like to read a book on their own in the library,” he said. “Here, being unique is accepted. It’s about focusing on your aspirations and goals.”

One of the main things the state Board of Education has looked for when reviewing charter school applications is whether the applicants plan to fill a niche or meet a need traditional public schools aren’t meeting.

Libby Crank enjoys singing, acting and dancing. Upon moving to Northwest Arkansas from St. Louis last year, the 15-year-old decided the traditional public schools weren’t as good a fit for her as the Benton County School of the Arts, which incorporates the arts in much of its curriculum.

“I really love it here,” said Crank, a sophomore. “We have all the same academic offerings, it’s just smaller and I feel like I know everyone. I think our arts programs are more advanced and more suited to what we want to pursue after school.”

There are other reasons charter schools are spreading in the region, Maranto said.

“You’ve got a certain amount of human capital, bright people who are capable of opening a school,” Maranto said.

Districts such as Bentonville are growing very rapidly, so a charter school helps the district manage that growth, he said. The Bentonville School District didn’t object when Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy submitted its application last year.

Charter Futures

Not all proposed charter schools have received warm welcomes from their home school districts. The state Board of Education denied separate applications in 2009 to open two charter schools in Washington County, at least in part because of opposition from local school district officials.

Another charter school, the Ozark College and Career Academy, has been proposed for Springdale. The school would open with 108 students in kindergarten through eighth grade and eventually expand through 12th grade. Christine Silano, a Springdale resident who holds a doctorate in curriculum and instruction, is organizing the school, which would look to serve at-risk, low-income and minority students and their families, Silano said.

The Springdale School District hasn’t responded to Silano’s plans yet, said Rick Schaeffer, district spokesman.

Several education policy experts and charter school officials said they expect slow but steady growth in the charter school sector in Arkansas. Maranto believes much of the growth will be concentrated in the online sector. That could be valuable to students, he said, but also dangerous for small school districts that might slip below the state minimum of 350 students — the point at which the state can consolidate a district with another.

“So I think that’s a tension policy makers are going to have to figure out,” Maranto said.

Ritter said after years of studying charter schools, he’s convinced they are a useful option.

“I don’t think they’re going to save public education, if public education even needs to be saved,” Ritter said. “But they provide an option for folks who might not otherwise have one.”