Six school districts have applied to the Arkansas Department of Education to operate conversion charter schools within their districts beginning in the 2016-17 school year.
The proposed schools are:
• Cave City High School Career and Collegiate Preparatory School, for up to 1,200 students in grades nine through 12.
• Fayetteville Virtual Academy, for up to 500 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.
• Gentry High School Conversion Academy, for up to 500 students in grades nine through 12.
• Gravette High School Career Academy, for up to 500 students in grades nine through 12.
• Hot Springs World Class High School, for grades nine through 12.
• Springdale School of Innovation, for up to 2,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.
Conversion charter schools are run by traditional school districts, in contrast to open-enrollment charters that are operated by nonprofit organizations. Both kinds of charter schools require approval from the Arkansas Department of Education's Charter Authorizing Panel and the Arkansas Board of Education because they seek exemptions from some state rules and laws that govern school operations.
Several of the newly proposed conversion charter schools will feature individualized student education plans and new or expanded partnerships with business and colleges that will enable students to earn industry certificates or concurrent college credit.
Some of the applications seek waivers of state teacher licensure requirements for those who will teach technical and vocational courses.
The Cave City High School Career and Collegiate Preparatory School application, for example, calls for altered school days and school years.
"Although the community of Cave City is vested in tradition, Cave City School District leaders recognize that its goals are not obtainable through a traditional school setting, and that the traditional school setting is not conducive for all learners," the district's application states.
"Since Cave City High School students will not typically have access to Internet at home, [the charter school] is extending the school day for one hour per day to accommodate these students. [The charter school] will hold hours from 7:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Students will have an extra hour each day to complete their online or concurrent credit course work," the application said, adding that the time can also be used for remediation and enrichment, which could include an Advanced Placement or college course.
The application also calls for "abandoning seat time requirement for its students" to give them the necessary time to travel to college campuses for courses and training.
"In addition, some [charter school] students will be awarded mentorships or apprenticeships with local business or industry; therefore, this opportunity must also be recognized and accepted to meet graduation requirements."
Springdale School District proposed to further develop its already existing School of Innovation by turning it into a charter school.
Now housed at the Jones Center in Springdale, the proposed charter school will be relocated to a new building at 2667 Hylton Road in Springdale. It will enable students to obtain industry certificates through partnerships with local businesses or complete an associate's degree before graduation through partnerships with post-secondary institutions.
The school program would be customized to individual students, and each student in grades six through 12 would have a personalized learning plan that identifies career and academic goals.
The school program would be offered online, starting with grades eight through 12 and expanded to lower grades over five years. Course work could be taken solely online or in a blended system that pairs online instruction with student attendance in a traditional classroom.
Additionally, the school would offer a dual language program in both Spanish and in Mandarin Chinese.
The Fayetteville proposal calls for the establishment of a virtual education program for students who are now home-schooled, have unique situations that hinder regular classroom attendance or need academic acceleration.
Field experiences and a college and career portfolio would be part of the academy student's school experience. Each academy student would choose an area for deep study through course work and experiences.
"Fayetteville Virtual Academy offers an invaluable association with a public school district that has a long and rich history in Arkansas -- a district that can provide more than just the opportunity to take online classes," the application states, "but also the chance to be part of a dynamic community of learners, athletes, musicians, actors and community servants."
Metro on 09/15/2015