Fayetteville's Leverett To Seek School Of Innovation Designation

FAYETTEVILLE -- Leverett Elementary School is moving ahead with its application to become a School of Innovation, Principal Cheryl Putnam and others told the School Board on Thursday night.

A School of Innovation is a new designation for schools. Such a school has unique goals requiring waivers from state education standards to improve learning, similar to charter school that get waivers to experiment with approaches to teaching.

At A Glance

Superintendent Search

Tim Hudson, School Board president, said he received eight applications for the superintendent’s job. Three are Arkansas educators. They are Robert Ross of Mansfield, Denny Rozenberg of Bearden and Tony Thurman of Cabot. The application deadline is March 31. Other appliants include:

• David Copeland of Huntsville, Ala.

• Greg Rockhold of Cordova, Tenn.

• Eric Ely, Springfield, Ohio

• Douglas Powers of Maize, Kan.

• Larrie Reynolds of Sparta, N.J.

Source: Fayetteville School Board

Education Commissioner Tom Kimbrell can approve a School of Innovation under Act 601 from the 2013 legislative session.

Discussion started more than a year ago to consider alternatives for Leverett, said Cheryl Putnam, principal. At first, a committee of parents, teachers, administrators and University of Arkansas educators considered creating a conversion charter school with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math integrated across the curriculum.

But the focus shifted nearly a year ago after Act 601 became a law, she said.

The application is due May 1, and if approved, new programs would be implemented next school year, Putnam said.

"We're still working on the waivers and filling out the application," she said.

Justin Minkel told the board his 5-year-old daughter is in kindergarten at Leverett and already thinks of herself as a scientist because of the work she is doing in her classroom.

"The thing we like about Leverett is they focus on kids as thinkers," he said, noting the deep instruction and concentration on science and math.

He noted his daughter will graduate college in 2030. In that time span, technology and jobs are expected to change dramatically, but people still will need to collaborate and work in teams, he said.

"I am grateful for that experience so far," said Minkel, who is a teacher in Springdale.

Assistant Principal Joe McClung and teacher Gracen Armendariz also spoke about changes introduced at Leverett this school year, such as professional development activities with the University of Arkansas and more collaboration among teachers.

Leverett received a grant to become a pilot school in a national engineering program called Project Lead the Way, McClung said.

Mike Daugherty, chairman of the curriculum and instruction department at the university, said the collaborative effort with the faculty is important to get students engaged in math and science by fourth grade.

"You can't buy every kid an iPad and call it a STEM school," he said, discussing the importance of integrating the four components in problem-based learning.

Research shows children know by fourth grade if they like or are good at math and science, he said. They largely shut down after if they aren't engaged early on.

In response to a question from board member Jim Halsell, Leverett likely will remain an open enrollment school, said Assistant Superintendent John Colbert.

The board will be asked to support the proposal at its April meeting, a requirement of the law.

NW News on 03/21/2014

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