GRAVETTE — Three area school districts say they want to open conversion charter schools. Lincoln, Elkins and Gravette school districts each filed a letter of intent to open their charter programs next school year.
A conversion school is a public school converted to a charter school. Conversion schools can only draw students from within the school district’s boundaries, according to the Arkansas Department of Education.
In a letter of intent, Gravette Superintendent Andrea Kelly said her district’s charter school will be called Gravette High-Tech High with a focus on science, technology, engineering and math, often referred to as Stem education.
“The goal is to prepare all students for colleges and careers,” Kelly wrote in her letter.
Kelly said last Wednesday she plans to attend a meeting in Little Rock later this month at which details of a formal application will be discussed.
“Arkansas has a model in mind for what the program should look like,” she said. As part of the application process, the district must agree to visit a high school in Texas where Stem education has been implemented.
Gravette may extend the program, or parts of it, into the middle school, Kelly said.
“We’re open-minded about that and taking baby steps,” she added.
Elkins Superintendent Megan Witonski described, in her letter of intent, the Elkins Charter School as a place for “an online hybrid learning system to enhance student learning, offer students the opportunity to experience hands-on activities and offer social settings to expand community skills and involvement.”
Witonski said the Elkins charter school would be more than an alternativeschool. She noted that two types of students will benefit from the charter program: those at risk for dropping out of school and those in need of remediation.
Other students, such as those with health issues,also might benefit from a different approach to teaching and learning, Witonski said.
Lincoln wants to convert its high school to a charter school, according to its letter from Superintendent Frank Holman. The district this year launched a schoolwide program focused on project-based learning, more emphasis on trust, respect, responsibility and use of technology.
The school name will be changed to Lincoln New Tech High School as part of the transition to the new school model.
A nonprofit organization in Osceola also submitted letters of intent to launchopen enrollment charter schools in Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale and Fayetteville, but the group doesn’t plan to open any schools in Northwest Arkansas before the 2012-13 school year. The program requires approval from Arkansas State Board of Education.
News, Pages 2 on 09/14/2011