Education notebook
NLR charter school hires first principal
Eric Dailey has been named the founding principal of Capital City Lighthouse Charter School, which is scheduled to open in August in North Little Rock for pupils in kindergarten through sixth grade. The school plans to expand one grade per year in subsequent years.
Dailey, a graduate of North Little Rock High School’s international baccalaureate program, earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Rhodes College in Memphis and a master’s degree in school leadership from the University of Southern California.
The new school leader is also a Teach for America corps alumnus, a National Truman Scholar and National Gates Scholar. He is a former assistant principal and teacher with KIPP Delta Public Schools at the Blytheville College Preparatory School, a charter school in northeast Arkansas.
Most recently, Dailey was the founding assistant school leader at KIPP Victory Academy charter school in St. Louis.
Teachers’ progress earns district award
The Cross County School District is a recent recipient of the national Teacher Advancement Program’s Award of Distinction and an accompanying $10,000 prize for furthering the teacher program.
Matthew McClure, the district’s chief financial officer, accepted the award at the 15th annual National TAP Conference in Los Angeles before 1,200 educators, policymakers and business leaders.
Cross County Elementary and Cross County High have used the teacher training, evaluation and compensation system to attract and develop effective educators. Educators are rewarded financially based on their increased instructional skills, student learning growth and taking on new tasks.
The Arkansas district is among six Award of Distinction recipients this year. There are two in Arizona and one each in Louisiana, Indiana and Texas.
LR Episcopal lands third accreditation
Episcopal Collegiate School in Little Rock has received accreditation from the Southern Association of Independent Schools, the first independent school in Arkansas to do so.
The classical college preparatory school, which is now serving about 762 students in pre-kindergarten through 12th grade, is also accredited by the Southwestern Association of Episcopal Schools and the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association.
Episcopal Collegiate is the only school in Arkansas to be accredited by all three organizations.
Schools accredited by the Southern Association of Independent Schools are part of an international network of accredited schools that have demonstrated success in educating children, according to a news release from the Little Rock campus.
“Episcopal had to meet quality standards, be evaluated by an outside group of professionals, and implement a school plan focused on strategic improvement and student performance,” according to the release.
The accreditation team was composed of educational leaders from institutions in the southeast and the southwest.
“This is an exciting time for Episcopal Collegiate School as it is affirmed by these three outstanding accrediting organizations and on the eve of the arrival of its new, outstanding Head of School, Mr. Christopher Tompkins,” said Thomas Southard, interim head of school.
Leaders look at how to make up lost time
School district leaders in the Little Rock, North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special school district are looking at plans to make up missed inclement weather days — or are in the midst of that planning.
The last day of class for Little Rock School District students is now scheduled for June 15. That is later than originally planned, the result of seven days of canceled classes because of snow and ice in February and March, district leaders said.
Semester tests will be administered on the last four days of the school year — June 10-15 in the Little Rock district.
Leaders in the North Little Rock and Pulaski County Special districts are considering different options of making up the inclement weather days.
Those options range from adding the missed days to the end of the school year to making up all the missed time by adding an extra hour to the school day for as many as 42 days.
Also being considered is a combination of the two options, which would entail adding some days at the end of the year and making up other days by adding an hour to some school days. A school day is equal to six hours.
The North Little Rock School District is surveying parents on their preferences. The link to the survey is on the district’s website, nlrsd. org. Another option offered in North Little Rock is holding classes on seven Saturdays.