Panel clears application for Hot Springs Middle School charter
The state’s Charter Authorizing Panel has approved the Hot Springs School District’s application for a conversion charter middle school.
The application received unanimous approval from the Authorizing Panel on Friday. The panel’s recommendation will proceed to the State Board of Education to vote on final authorization.
“The district is very excited about the continued opportunities that the charter will allow,” said a release from the district on Monday. “Much appreciation goes to all of the supporters of this endeavor and the tremendous amount of work required for the journey.”
The district applied for a conversion charter for Hot Springs Middle School to open next August as Hot Springs Junior Academy. The conversion charter will be founded on career clusters.
Representatives from the district spoke to the panel on Friday. The team from Hot Springs included Superintendent Mike Hernandez; Steph The
anie Nehus, associate superintendent of learning services; Natasha Lenox, middle school principal; Becky Rosburg, executive principal of Hot Springs Intermediate School and Park International Baccalaureate Magnet School; Kelley Deardorff, director of alternative learning environment/career initiatives; and Nancy Scott, middle school Middle Years Programme coordinator.
Questions from the panel focused on teacher licensure, waivers and staff encouragement. Nehus said they are proud to receive the panel’s approval.
“Hot Springs Junior Academy will lay the foundation by providing opportunities for our students to participate in career explorations in middle school,” Nehus said. “These explorations will prepare them for selecting a career academy at Hot Springs World Class High School, setting them up to be 100 percent career-ready when they graduate.
The high school began as a conversion charter this semester with content-specific career academies. Junior Academy students will meet for 45 minutes twice each week to explore and choose career areas in which they are interested.
Students on an accelerated path will also participate in independent study. Each “exploration” will have several potential careers “attached” to it. Members of the community and local industry will lead sessions in school about their careers. The school’s schedule will expand to include a zero hour, during which students will meet with assigned mentors to assess their career interests, studies, projects and progress.
Educators representing the Hot Springs Junior Academy will partner with Arkansas Public School Resource Center to familiarize themselves with the Summit Personalized Learning Platform, which was designed by Summit Public Schools in California and Facebook engineers. The platform will soon debut in Arkansas.