Lowe's Volunteers Rebuild Rogers Arts School Outdoor Classroom

ROGERS -- Volunteers from Lowe's are renovating an outdoor space this week at Arkansas Arts Academy's elementary/middle school campus at 2005 S. 12th St.

They may be doing the work, but the design comes from the children's vision, said Staci Previtte, assistant manager of the Rogers home improvement store.

Every kindergarten through fourth-grade child who visited her art class got the chance to draw or describe their dream for the outdoor space, said Jodi Smith, an art teacher at the charter school.

"It's definitely one of the most creative requests," said Lorae Fuller, Lowe's nursery specialist.

A grassy area backs up to a row of classrooms behind one wing of the school. Smith's room last year backed up to the outdoor space. Art students need a sink, she said, which inspired her to apply to the Lowe's Heroes program in hopes of getting an outdoor sink.

It had been six or seven years since the area was marked out as a classroom. The area needed mulch to cover the exposed landscape fabric, Smith said. One of the trees was covered in thorns. The children had two picnic tables for a workspace, she said.

The revitalized space will be minus the shade of the hawthorn tree, but will have a pergola, volunteers said.

The tree did, however, attract birds, Smith said. Volunteers will plant blackberry bushes and build an irrigation system after seeing children's notes about berries.

"The kids love to sit and draw birds," Smith said.

Cardinals and blue jays are a common sight. She plans to set up some birdhouses.

A child can sit in a chair and look at a picture in the classroom, but it isn't the same, she said.

"We can imagine something visually, but if we go outside we can actually feel it," she said.

Smith partnered with teacher Lina Ballard in submitting 20 student essays and a folder of before and after artwork to be considered for the Heroes project. Ballard said she asked students to write about their "backyard dream."

"Because the kids wrote the grant, they'll appreciate it. They earned it," Smith said.

Previtte said she still has two folders of student work from the application. Each Lowe's store does an annual Lowe's Heroes project. Volunteers tried to incorporate all the students' ideas, she said.

"They had a pretty clear view of what they wanted out here," Previtte said.

Lathan Smalley, 10, said in an outdoor art classroom he wanted a big table with chairs and easels so he could reach the paint when other students had it close.

He creates better art outdoors, he said.

"It's just peaceful," he said.

Buy-in from community partners is key to the success of a charter school, said Renee Deshommes, the school's new principal.

"Hopefully we will see more of this," Deshommes said.

The elementary/middle school building will get more attention in the future, said Mary Ley, chief executive officer of the academy.

Ley said she met Tuesday with Marlon Blackwell, head of the University of Arkansas architecture department, who will design a new main entrance to the elementary/middle school campus.

School officials added design concepts to their core mission of music, theater, dance, visual arts and academic excellence after discussions with the University of Arkansas, Ley said. Architectural concept tours and art as design will be part of the academy's integrated curriculum, she said.

Ley said she will seek out donations to remodel the facade, after Blackwell finishes his design. Pieces of the original entrance to the school will be preserved as part of the school's history, she said.

This week's outdoor project will reinvigorate the school's appearance and the backyard atmosphere of the elementary/middle school campus.

"To make our backyard have art through nature is just a wonderful thing," Ley said.