Big changes are coming to Haas Hall Academy this year as the charter school prepares to move to a new site in Fayetteville and open a second campus in Bentonville.
Haas Hall plans to move about a mile north from 3155 N. College Ave. to 3880 N. Front St. in Fayetteville. The state's Charter Authorizing Panel approved the new site last month. The panel also approved Haas Hall's proposal to add a seventh grade there, so it will become a seventh- through 12th-grade school this fall.
Charter Schools
Charter schools are public schools allowed to operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools. The charter is a performance contract detailing the school’s mission, program, goals, students served and methods of assessment.
Haas Hall Bentonville will be one of six charter schools in Benton County when it opens next fall. Other charter schools in the county will include: Arkansas Arts Academy (Rogers), Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy (Bentonville), Pea Ridge Manufacturing and Business Academy, Rogers New Technology High School and Siloam Springs High School.
Source: Staff Report
Haas Hall currently serves 320 students in grades eight through 12. Adding the seventh grade will bring capacity to 400. The school, which focuses on preparing students for college, has been rated the best high school in Arkansas by U.S. News & World Report for three straight years.
The Fayetteville School District is on the verge of changing its junior-high grade configuration from grades eight and nine to seven and eight. Haas Hall's addition of seventh grade is intended to coincide with that change to reduce the number of building transitions incoming Haas Hall students must make.
"We're trying to make it less painful for a youngster to come here," said Martin Schoppmeyer, Haas Hall's founder and superintendent. "I'm big on consistency and continuity. Any time you change a school, you have some sort of a learning curve, not only about the facility, but about the idiosyncrasies of that school."
The new location is what used to be home to the Colony Shop, a clothing store. Haas Hall will lease the building, which is owned by MSC Investments. The building is a shell and will need to be renovated to fit the school's needs, Schoppmeyer said.
One of the main benefits of moving is Haas Hall will have a facility to itself instead of having to share one with multiple tenants, as it does now. That makes the school safer, Schoppmeyer said.
The new site also provides about 7,000 additional square feet and ample parking, he said.
"It's a prime location," Schoppmeyer said. "It's quiet. There are grassy areas on the side and in the back. It's a safety factor, but we also wanted more space."
This will be Haas Hall's third location. The school opened in Farmington in 2004, then moved to its current site on North College Avenue in 2009. Its lease there expires this year, Schoppmeyer said.
Pierce Osborne, president of Haas Hall's board, said he's excited about the next move. Osborne has a son who graduated from Haas Hall last year and a daughter who's a ninth-grader there.
"We needed a larger and better facility," Osborne said. "We're excited we were able to find a place we can put the kids that will be more suitable. The (current) facility is cramped. There were leaks in the roof. The ingress and egress isn't so great."
Meanwhile, Haas Hall is planning to launch a Bentonville school this fall. That school will also be for grades seven through 12. It's been approved to serve up to 500 students, but Schoppmeyer said it will open with no more than 320.
Hundreds have applied for a seat in that school, Schoppmeyer said. A lottery to determine who will be admitted is scheduled for Friday. The school will continue to accept applications until Friday afternoon.
Schoppmeyer said he's hired six teachers so far for Haas Hall Bentonville.
"A number of people from out-of-state have applied. The quality of people has been phenomenal," he said.
The school will occupy a 20,000 square-foot building to be constructed at 2600 S.E. J St., about half a mile south of Bentonville High School. The shell of the building has been complete for months, but owners are waiting until a lease is signed with Haas Hall to proceed with further construction, according to Joi Swanson, business development manager for Crossland Construction.
"Our goal is to get something signed by (this) week," Schoppmeyer said.
Bob McCaslin, Bentonville mayor, said Haas Hall will make a great addition to the city.
"There are three things that make this region special, particularly in Bentonville," McCaslin said. "That's jobs, quality of life and superior educational opportunities. I think (Haas Hall) just adds to the good that's already here in the form of education, and it's obvious some people want to have a choice in the education of their children."
The extra traffic that will be created by Haas Hall, combined with its proximity to Bentonville High School, doesn't worry McCaslin. There are enough large thoroughfares in that area, and Haas Hall's classes start and end before Bentonville High's classes each day, he said.
The Walton Family Foundation has been a longtime supporter of Haas Hall. The foundation recently provided the school a $500,000 grant to support its expansion, said foundation spokesman Kevin Thornton.
Osborne said the changes in store for Haas Hall this fall are a little overwhelming, "But these are things that have been in the works for quite a while. We're ready. We've had a lot of help. The people in Benton County have done a great deal to help us get started up there. It's all very magical."
NW News on 03/01/2015