ROGERS -- A new focus on integrating the arts into all classes will roll out at Arkansas Arts Academy when school starts Aug. 14.
The public charter school will join the Arkansas A+ network and partner with Trike Theater this fall, said Mary Ley, new chief executive officer. Arkansas A+ trains teachers on how to bring the arts into all classes. Trike Theater's school program incorporates movement into learning.
On The Web
Arts School
Benton County School of the Arts was founded as a kindergarten through eighth-grade charter school in 2001. The Northwest Arkansas Academy of Fine Arts was launched as a high school in 2007. The two schools merged in 2009 taking the Benton County School of the Arts name. The school was renamed Arkansas Arts Academy on July 1.
Arkansas Arts Academy is a public charter school that enrolls students from across Northwest Arkansas.
Visit www.arkansasartsaca… for more information about the charter school.
Ley took her job on July 1, the same day the school's name changed from Benton County School of the Arts. In those couple weeks she's been busy. She rattles off a list of other meetings and partnerships in the works.
There is an arts presence in Northwest Arkansas, she said.
"Right now, we have become a community of inspiration," she said.
The school has a solid foundation in art, Ley said. The teachers are good, but they need more support in order to blend art into every class. The high school has solid test scores, but needs more connections to art careers. Middle school students need a path to the high school campus. Performances are good, but need a wider audience.
Ley doesn't want Arkansas Arts Academy to be good. She wants it to be great.
A great arts school has an in-depth curriculum, Ley said.
During the next year she plans to oversee in-house curriculum building that can serve as a national model, a lab for new ideas.
"This is no canned thing. It's going to be created here," she said.
It isn't the first time she's taken new ideas to a school. Ley came to the charter school from her position as executive director of communications and community partnerships in the Bentonville School District. Prior to that she was project director at Galileo School of Math and Science in Colorado Springs, Colo., then Jack Swigert Aerospace Academy, also in Colorado Springs.
Michael Poore, Bentonville superintendent, said he tapped Ley to lead those school turnarounds while an administrator in Colorado Springs. When he met Ley five years ago, he thought he was just going to a library display of junior high work. The library was the worst in 65 schools, Poore said. Ley, an International Baccalaureate coordinator, had planned a Christmas break library remodel and needed administrative approval before meeting Poore. She got it.
"She has this talent of being innovative and having an impact on kids," Poore said.
Partnerships forged during her years at Bentonville will serve her well in making similar connections for the charter school, Poore said.
History
Parents founded Benton County School of the Arts as a kindergarten through eighth-grade charter school 13 years ago. Northwest Arkansas Academy of Fine Arts was launched in a downtown church building in 2007. The two schools merged in 2009.
The relaunch and rebranding of the school has been in the works for years, said Dave Russell, School Board president. Ley's enthusiasm will be great for teacher morale, he said.
The past year was difficult for Benton County School of the Arts. School Board members reviewed a monthly report about students who withdrew from the school. Schedule changes cut the number of art classes students could take in middle school. Administrators fretted about test scores during the school's report to the public. Paul Hines, former superintendent, maintained his innocence, but resigned after the School Board attempted to quietly settle allegations of sexual harassment from former principal Julia Rice.
Ley's long-term vision drew her back, said Kimi Henley, parent. Henley's family was involved with the school in the past, but sat out last year. She said she was impressed with Ley's plan to return to an art emphasis.
"We're definitely looking forward to coming back," Henley said.
The Future
Art isn't just for art class, said Ley, who started her education career as a high school art teacher.
A visual arts class might visit an exhibit such as the Normal Rockwell exhibit at Crystal Bridges last year, Ley said. However, the lesson doesn't end with the visit. The art museum visit could inspire an assignment where art students take photographs that remind them of Rockwell's painting. In history they might learn about the era when Rockwell painted his classic images. In math they might take a cue from places they visited during their own photo research. Back in art class, they can take their photographs and make their own art, then evaluate the icons they created. If students learn multiple lessons in multiple ways, they learn better, Ley said.
"They'll never forget Norman Rockwell after that," she said.
Part of the support for the school will come from Arkansas A+. There are 17 schools currently involved in the program, counting the charter school, according to the program's website. Arkansas Arts Academy will be the only one in the northwest corner of the state.
Arts integration is the conversation piece of what they teach, said Erin Calaway, programming director for Arkansas A+. Themed lessons that cross between math and movement or science and writing need to include real experiences. Teachers have to coordinate lesson plans and schedules. Tests can also be interactive, Calaway said. A human version of the game "Battleship" can test a student's ability to find a point on a grid.
Some students work very well with paper and pencil, Calaway said, but becoming a "math ninja" by learning the steps of long division with hand motions could be a memory key for others. A climate of creativity is key, Calaway said.
The A+ training later this month will offer immediate support, Ley said. There will be a transition period as the school incorporates more art infused projects in all subjects.
"In about a year from now we'll own it," she said.
She sees a future where Arkansas Arts Academy is routinely represented at The Juilliard School of Music, and where the Rogers-based charter school spawns additional campuses. She'd like a preschool. The high school could have a bike team or a cross country team, Ley said.
The school can't do it alone. She's looking for partners and hints about ongoing talks. She doesn't plan to quit. The move to Arkansas Arts Academy was serendipitous, she said.
"We have a really easy mission. Academic excellence through the arts," Ley said. "We don't need more. That's what we're going to do."
NW News on 07/14/2014