ADE corrects misnomer for Lakeside

LITTLE ROCK — A Lakeside School District campus was included among schools with updated statuses on a report approved Thursday by the State Board of Education after they were erroneously included in an earlier version.

The board approved the updated “Final Accreditation Report Fiscal Year 2016-17: Summary of Accreditation for Arkansas Public Schools and School Districts” during a special meeting. An earlier version was approved on June 8, but some districts were identified as “probationary” despite previously resolving their issues.

“We made a mistake, and as soon as we learned of the mistake we took the necessary steps to correct it,” said Arkansas Department of Education Commissioner Johnny Key. “We are also working to improve our systems so it won’t happen in the future. I sincerely apologize to the patrons, educators and administrators for any negative perception this may have caused regarding their schools.”

Superintendent Shawn Cook said the ADE inquired about the certification of one of the district’s teachers, but the matter was resolved prior to the earlier version of the accreditation report.

“We were very pleased with the department on how they handled it after they found out there was a mistake,” Cook said on Thursday. “Commissioner Key apologized to me in person yesterday and they apologized at the State Board meeting today.”

Other districts with schools erroneously included in the earlier version were Bauxite, Berryville, Bryant, Dumas, Exalt Academy, Greenwood, Heber Springs, Rector, Stuttgart, Watson Chapel and Woodlawn.