Arkansas Board of Education renews charter schools; includes several NWA schools

The Don Tyson School of Innovation at Springdale is shown in this 2016 file photo.
The Don Tyson School of Innovation at Springdale is shown in this 2016 file photo.

The Arkansas Board of Education on Thursday gave final approval to the five-year renewal of charters for the continued operation of eight open-enrollment and conversion charter schools.

The state-issued charters were otherwise due to expire in June.

The conversion charter schools — operated by traditional school districts — approved for renewed charters were:

• Cave City High School Career and Collegiate Preparatory School, approved to serve grades nine through 12 with a maximum enrollment of 1,200.

• Fayetteville Virtual Academy in the Fayetteville School District, approved to serve up to 5,000 in grades kindergarten through 12.

• Cross County High School: A New Tech School, which can serve up to 500 students in grades seven through 12.

• Don Tyson School of Innovation, operated by the Springdale School District, for up to 8,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.

• Hot Springs World Class High School operated by the Hot Springs School District for up to 1,200 students in grades nine through 12.

The open-enrollment charter schools — operated by nonprofit organizations other than traditional school districts — approved for renewed charters were:

• Future School of Fort Smith, which currently is approved to serve up to 450 students in grades 10 through 12 but will expand to include ninth grade in the upcoming school year.

• Imboden Area Charter School, which serves kindergarten through eighth grades with an enrollment cap of 150.

• Arkansas Connections Academy, which is a 100% statewide virtual school that is authorized to enroll up to 3,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grades.

Read Friday's Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for more details.

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