2008 Woodie Awards
Charter School One Step Closer
Brad Howard
Issue date: 1/27/06 Section: News
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On Jan. 16, Hendrix College President J. Timothy Cloyd announced that the College received $20,000 from The Walton Family Foundation to begin research on establishing a Hendrix College charter school and professional development center as a part of the Academic Village. The proposed school will house pre-kindergarten through eighth grade and will provide new, hands-on educational opportunities for Hendrix students. Education Department Chair Dr. James Jennings, who authored the proposal, will direct the research for the school and hopes to get final approval by all entities by August 2008.
"A charter school must still recognize public school guidelines, but in a more relaxed environment to allow more flexibility," Jennings said. "The whole concept…is based on a philosophy of offering quality education to students who are having problems. We will be working with the public school system to explore ways to reach out to these students and help improve their test scores."
Hendrix received the $20,000 grant to allow Jennings to continue his efforts to research the concept of a new charter school over a 12-month period. Given by The Walton Family Foundation, founded by Wal-Mart creator Sam Walton and his wife, Helen, the grant will bring the school one step closer to realization.
The school will concentrate its emphases in four areas of education - student learning, professional development for teachers, training for instructional leaders, and research for faculty and students.
"We're doing something cutting edge in terms of this arrangement," Jennings said. "The school will reflect a firm belief that all students - both low achievers and high achievers - will benefit from ongoing emphasis on higher order thinking skills."
According to Jennings' proposal, the school will actively engage in the use of a college preparatory curriculum in all grades, hiring only licensed teachers and instituting a comprehensive foreign languages program. Secondly, the school will have such features as classroom two-way mirrors for observation opportunities in order to serve as a professional development center for teachers throughout the state. As well, Jennings hopes to use the school to implement a statewide Instructional Leaders Institute to "cultivate the type of leadership needed to address educational problems in Arkansas and to expand the charter school movement in Arkansas."
"A charter school must still recognize public school guidelines, but in a more relaxed environment to allow more flexibility," Jennings said. "The whole concept…is based on a philosophy of offering quality education to students who are having problems. We will be working with the public school system to explore ways to reach out to these students and help improve their test scores."
Hendrix received the $20,000 grant to allow Jennings to continue his efforts to research the concept of a new charter school over a 12-month period. Given by The Walton Family Foundation, founded by Wal-Mart creator Sam Walton and his wife, Helen, the grant will bring the school one step closer to realization.
The school will concentrate its emphases in four areas of education - student learning, professional development for teachers, training for instructional leaders, and research for faculty and students.
"We're doing something cutting edge in terms of this arrangement," Jennings said. "The school will reflect a firm belief that all students - both low achievers and high achievers - will benefit from ongoing emphasis on higher order thinking skills."
According to Jennings' proposal, the school will actively engage in the use of a college preparatory curriculum in all grades, hiring only licensed teachers and instituting a comprehensive foreign languages program. Secondly, the school will have such features as classroom two-way mirrors for observation opportunities in order to serve as a professional development center for teachers throughout the state. As well, Jennings hopes to use the school to implement a statewide Instructional Leaders Institute to "cultivate the type of leadership needed to address educational problems in Arkansas and to expand the charter school movement in Arkansas."