GENTRY -- A public meeting will be held at the Gentry High School auditorium at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 1, to discuss a public school conversion charter application the district plans to file next month. The school district is applying for a conversion charter school on the high school campus in an effort to better prepare students to enter the workforce upon graduation.
The public meeting is a mandatory application requirement for the state charter application process but also an opportunity for parents and residents of the Gentry School District to learn more about the proposed charter school application and how it will affect local students. A question and answer session will follow the school district's presentation.
Depending on student and parent interest, the charter school at Gentry High School will be considering programs leading to industry certification in the medical and information technology areas -- the school district, in cooperation with Northwest Arkansas Community College, is already beginning to provide medical training by offering a certified nurse aide training course on the school campus this semester. A focus on programs associated with the transportation industry, such as diesel mechanics, will also be a high priority, according to Judy Winslett, assistant superintendent of schools and coordinator of the conversion charter school effort.
"In the spring, prior to registration for the upcoming fall classes, GHS held an information session for students about regional career options and labor market data," Winslett said. "Following the session, 202 students completed a survey indicating their career interest and post-secondary educational intents. Sixty-five percent of the students responding to the survey were interested in careers which would not require completion of a four year college program," she said.
"I feel like our school district is on the cusp of another move forward in what our district can do to better help students prepare for their place in the world," Winslett said. "I am constantly amazed at the level of support citizens and business leaders of the Gentry school district demonstrate."
Some start-up funding for a charter school in Gentry may come from the state, but much of the support will need to come from local businesses and industry which have a shared interest in preparing high school graduates to fill needed job posts.
"When the Conversion Charter initiative first began in Arkansas, there were limited applications for the start-up funds, so grants from the Arkansas Department of Education were fairly significant," Winslett said. "As might be expected, that revenue stream is diminishing. Today's charters seek grants and look to local business and industry for financial assistance. With the thrust to produce job applicants with better skills, business and industry investment in charters is akin to providing professional development for future workers," she explained.
The conversion charter school application deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 9. Following the application, the school district will present its case for being allowed to establish a charter school in connection with the high school at a hearing before the Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel, on Nov. 18 or 19. If the district's application is approved by the panel and Arkansas State Board of Education, the new Gentry charter school will open in August of 2016.
"The Gentry conversion charter school will equip students for the future by developing skills (and) by working with local businesses to prepare students to enter the workforce or pursue secondary education opportunities," said Brae Harper, principal at Gentry High School.
"For a person like me, who was born in the 1950s in rural Arkansas, the idea of our Gentry graduates competing in a regional, state, national or world job marketplace is humbling," said Randy Barrett, Gentry superintendent of schools. "I think the school district has for many years done a good job preparing our students for college. I think this recent venture towards a conversion charter school will allow us to place an equal emphasis on career education. The goal for college and the goal for careers is for the student to gain marketable skills in his or her chosen field and then get a job in that field. This is no better job -- there are just different ways to prepare to get one," Barrett said.
General News on 08/19/2015