SPRINGDALE -- Three small school districts in Northwest Arkansas plan to convert their high schools into district-run charter schools with more career-training programs for students.
The Gentry, Gravette and Greenland school districts were among 10 districts from across the state to notify the Department of Education of their intent to establish district-conversion charter schools as early as the 2016-17 school year.
By the numbers
• 22: District-conversion charter schools open in the state as of 2014
• 5: Number of new district-conversion charters approved last school year
• 10: Number of district-conversion charters proposed for consideration in 2015-16
Source: Arkansas Department of Education
There were five proposals from districts in Benton and Washington counties, with Fayetteville and Springdale submitting the other two.
The process began with school districts filing letters of intent with the state. To continue, the districts must submit more comprehensive applications due Sept. 9. The proposals are due to go to the state's Charter Authorizing Panel in November and the State Board of Education in December.
In Gentry, Superintendent Randy Barrett said converting the high school to a charter school interested him because of the large percentage of students nationwide who don't earn a bachelor's degree, he said. Those students need skills to land jobs that earn more than the minimum wage.
"When you leave high school, whether you go to college or not, the idea is to get a job," Barrett said. "Whether you're in 12th grade and looking for a job or graduate from college looking for a job, you're both looking for a job."
Administrators in the three districts said plans for their high school campuses to become charter schools aren't meant to disrupt existing programs. They want state officials to waive some regulations, such as on teacher licensing and time in class, so they can do more for students who plan to transition from high school into the workforce after graduation.
Conversion charter schools differ from open-enrollment charter schools. Open-enrollment charter schools are public schools run by an independent organization. They aren't limited to enrolling students from a specific geographic boundary like a public school district.
Conversion charters are overseen by a public school district and enroll students from a defined geographic area. They tend to retain the general character of the school that existed prior to the conversion, but operate in an environment where some state regulations have been relaxed, said Patrick Wolf, professor and 21st century endowed chair in school choice in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas.
"They're based on the expectation or the assumption that a traditional public school would succeed in that environment if it was given more flexibility," Wolf said. "The problem isn't the environment or the composition of the student body, the problem is just the inability of the school to do different things managerially."
State regulations provide a default that most schools follow, such as the number of hours students must attend school, the credentials teachers must have and how long the school year should be, said Gary Ritter, endowed chair in education policy in the Department of Education Reform. Licensed teachers are desirable in most cases, he said.
"Unless you can come up with a good reason or a good strategy for diverting from the norm, you need to follow the guidelines," Ritter said. "You still have to request these and make a case that you need these."
The Gentry district wants to give students the option of pursuing certificates for employment or beginning job-training programs prior to graduating from high school, Barrett said. Some fields of interest are medical professions and diesel mechanics.
"It's this thought of how many kids do we actually send onto a four-year college?" Barrett said. "How many of those kids make it all through with a bachelor's degree or higher?"
Finding someone with both a teaching license and a national certification in a field like diesel mechanics would be difficult, Assistant Superintendent Judy Winslett said. The district will ask the state to waive licensing requirements with the charter application. The district wants regulations relaxed so that students will be able to leave school for internships.
In the 2014-15 school year, Gravette Public Schools began offering classes in heating and air conditioning, and eight of 13 students who took classes got jobs in the industry, Superintendent Richard Page said. He wants to add electrical and plumbing classes in a career academy that would be part of the high school.
Page plans to propose creating a series of courses, including online courses, offered in career pathways, he said. He hopes to offer internships and apprenticeships to students but needs a waiver for them to be away from school.
Greenland has a similar plan, Superintendent Larry Ben said.
Ben hopes a charter will enable the high school to offer more online classes and internships, he said. He wants the ability to hire professionals who can teach skills, but lack a teaching degree. He plans to form an advisory council to help students understand the market for different jobs and to help the district in planning curriculum.
"We want to make our school more relevant for more kids, serving all of our kids, hopefully beyond just the ones that are going to college," Ben said. "We want to educate our kids about what kinds of careers and what kinds of jobs are out there."
NW News on 06/28/2015