Hutchinson pushes student grants
At NLR High, governor turns spotlight on high- demand fields
Speaking to North Little Rock High School students, Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Thursday promoted a new state grant program that will provide up to five semesters of tuition and fees for students seeking credentials in high- demand careers, including computer science.
Arkansas Future Grants, authorized by Act 316 of this current legislative session, will be available as soon as the 2017- 18 school year for full- and part- time students in higher- education courses that will lead to an associate degree or certificate in science, technology and math fields or in fields that are in high demand in a particular region of the state.
Recipients of the grants must agree to participate to being mentored and complete 15 hours per semester of community service. They must also reside in the state for three consecutive years and be employed beginning within six months after receiving the associate degree
or certificate, according to the act.
“In Arkansas we want you to get more than high school,” Hutchinson told the students attending the dedication ceremony of the nearly all new, extensively expanded North Little Rock High School. For the first time this school year, the campus was able to accommodate all grades, nine through 12, for more than 2,400 students.
But the governor acknowledged that there can be a lot of uncertainty in a family about a student’s path to college.
“I think it’s important to reduce the uncertainty for our students. If we can eliminate uncertainty, then your future is a little bit more clear and there is more opportunity,” he said.
That is the purpose of the Arkansas Future grants, the governor said.
“If you go to a two- year college or a technical school, we’re going to make sure your full tuition and costs are paid,” Hutchinson said. “You don’t have to worry about it. It’s going to happen.”
The governor and other state and North Little Rock dignitaries made their remarks in the performing arts auditorium at the high school, which — like the classrooms, cafeteria, auxiliary gymnasium, stadium and media center — are newly constructed and attached to what was previously known as Ole Main High School at 22nd and Main streets.
The governor praised the high school, where more than 70 students are enrolled in computer science courses — a course of study for students that the governor has championed. The school is also home to an extensive workforce education program, new Center of Excellence conversion charter school, a large theater arts program and top- performing competitive student athletic teams.
“Young people, you are going to be given a lot of opportunities,” Hutchinson said. “They are extraordinary and they are enhanced by this learning facility. I hope you will take full advantage of it.”
The high school was part of a $ 265 million capital- improvement program in which the district’s 21 schools were reduced to 13 — nearly all of which were built anew or extensively remodeled.
Rep. Eddie Armstrong, D- North Little Rock, a graduate of the North Little Rock schools, said new buildings aren’t necessary for students to learn — only people who care. But young people who see decay in their communities stop believing they have the opportunity to achieve and be something.
Armstrong called the new school “a launching pad to give our students the best that they absolutely deserve.”
“Young people, you should be most proud. You should understand that you are deserving, you are valued. The proof is in the pudding. The proof is in the hallways that you walk in everyday and the TVs you get to watch in your cafeteria and the food you get to eat and the quality of education that you are getting from the teachers who are providing it everyday.”
Superintendent Kelly Rodgers told the audience that he believes the district is the only one in the nation to do a complete transformation of its schools. That was made possible, he said, by a 2012 vote of North Little Rock district residents to raise taxes, along with state funding and School Board budget- cutting decisions.
“We’re educating the next generation of leaders in North Little Rock,” Rodgers said. “Therefore, we want the latest in technology and pedagogy at their fingertips.”
Thursday’s event also featured remarks from North Little Rock Mayor Joe Smith; Principal Randy Rutherford; School Board member Tracy Steele; Rep. Carlton Wing, R- North Little Rock; and Brad Montgomery, the Arkansas Division of Public School Academic Facilities and Transportation director. The school choir and color guard also performed.
Jim French, senior principal of the DLR Group, the architecture firm that helped the district conceptualize the building program and did the design of the schools, presented the high school with a large painting of students congregating on “learning stairs.” Those are wide staircases in the high school that can be used for socializing, lounging, studying or as seats for a large group presentation.
The DLR Group commissioned the work from local artist Kevin Kresse.