Statement of Gary Newton to Arkansas Department of Education Charter School Authorizing Panel
November 14, 2013
Thank you, Dr. Strickland.
Good morning.
Chairman Kimbrell, Members of the Charter School Authorizing Panel, I’m honored to be here this morning as a parent of two students who are in their eighth year of public education, seven years in three Little Rock School District schools and now four months in eStem Public Charter Middle School.
On behalf of the 306 parents and citizens who signed petitions, the 222 who joined our Action Group, the 18 civic, business and parent leaders who submitted Letters of Support, and those who are with us today, I stand before you today seeking your approval of the parent-initiated, Responsive Education Solutions, open enrollment, public charter application of Quest Middle School of West Little Rock.
Unlike perhaps any charter application in our state’s history, ours was necessitated by a decades-long void of public secondary education in our community. Simply put, our parents seek to provide public education where none exists.
In November of 2012, seven traditional school district parents metto discuss initial steps in creating a charter middle and high school in West Little Rock.
The group adjourned highly motivated to mobilize parents in support of the effort and attract a world-class charter management organization.
The following month, 78 parents convened at a church to hear from the parent initiators of the newly approved Responsive Education Solutions’ Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy in Bentonville.
By June of 2013, our group had grown to over 220 parents when we too chose Responsive Education Solutions to create the Quest Middle School of West Little Rock. In ResponsiveEd, we found that proven, world-class partner to provide immediate, accessible and excellent public secondary education for our children.
While every family’s experience is different, allow me to share ours so you may better understand why we, and our fellow parents, have acted.
In 2005, we moved to Little Rock from Los Angeles for a better life for our children and family.
When lack of capacity at our zoned elementary school denied our twins’ access to PreK in our community, we were blessed to find space and excellence at Fair Park Early Childhood Center in Midtown. There, we also found the economic and cultural diversity our family so values. Fair Park truly reflected our City.
When it came time for Kindergarten, we were legally guaranteed space at our zoned school, though its capacity had been supplemented for years with temporary buildings.
For third grade, ours were among the first students at Dr. Don R. Roberts Elementary School. On the day it opened, Roberts’ 900 students made it the largest elementary school in the Little Rock School District. Based on last year’s benchmark exams, Roberts is also the fifth highest performing elementary school in Arkansas.
This school year, because demand exceeded desks, PreK was cancelled at Roberts. Just as capacity had denied our children access to their zoned school for PreK, now all Roberts parents would have to send their four-year olds out of their attendance zone for their first public school experience.
This year, when it came time for middle school, our only public choices were to bus our children east of University Avenue to our zoned middle school or to Mann Arts & Science Magnet east of I-30 on Roosevelt.
Based on last year’s Benchmark exams, out of 871 schools reporting in Arkansas, our zoned middle school ranked 849th in math and 845th in literacy, the lowest 3% of schools in Arkansas. Mann, a stipulation “magnet,” ranked 624th and 591st, respectively, among the lowest third in the state.
In other words, we were expected to leave Arkansas’s fifth best elementary school and bus across town in order to attend one of the lowest performing schools in the state.
Meanwhile, we were also denied entry to the public middle school closest to our home, Joe T. Robinson in the Pulaski County Special School District, because both Pulaski County and Little Rock exempted their districts from the Public School Choice Act of 2013.
So, when we were finally successful in our third charter school lottery, we acted as we did in moving from Los Angeles, and chose to do what was best for our children and family and enrolled our students downtown, without transportation, at eStem Public Charter Middle School. As with Fair Park seven years earlier, at eStem we have found both excellence and the valued cultural and economic diversity truly reflective of our City.
For three years, like waves of parents before us, we begged our School Board to provide excellent, accessible public secondary education for our students, but it didn’t.
Only when we stopped begging and started acting on the option afforded us by the General Assembly and Governor resulting in the application before you today, did the Board move to acquire property for a middle school in West Little Rock. If land purchase to construction follows the Roberts timeline, a middle school will be ready in West Little Rock in time for our children’s senior year. That said, the board has indicated that any new construction is contingent upon the results of a yet-to-begin facilities study and a millage increase, which has no election date set or guarantee of success.
Just as our perceived competition prompted our Board to act, it is our intention that the quality of Quest Middle School will accelerate construction of new traditional middle and high schools in the community. Just last week, Dr. Guess stood here, before the State Board of Education to recommend that Robinson Middle and High Schools be refurbished as all middle school, and a new high school be built, contingent upon a millage increase. If approved by voters, Little Rock’s and Pulaski County’s three “new” traditional schools would be just 3.3 miles apart. After generations of inaction, we don’t think it a coincidence that Dr. Guess’ proposal, Little Rock’s land purchase, and our hearing today all came within the past three weeks.
Over a recent two-year period, our District lost 588 students. 504 of those left between the fifth and sixth grades. Over a four-year period, the middle school exodus increased 460%. As a result, the vast majority of last year’s Roberts Elementary fifth graders are no longer in traditional public education. Friendships forged over the years have been scattered among private schools, home schools, charter schools and school districts outside of Pulaski County, not because of choice, but because of moving, all because the Board chose not to act upon public, readily accessible census and demographic data.
Three of the five parents most involved in the historic selection of Dr. Dexter Suggs as the new Little Rock School District Superintendent are leaders of our charter school effort. One of those parents has led us and other former Roberts parents in joining and supporting our zoned middle school’s PTA, even though none of us have children there. Already, that partnership has more than tripled PTA membership and fundraising over last year.
As evidenced by our actions, our parent initiators of Quest Middle School believe public education is not either/or, but all.
We are keenly aware that the success or failure of our entire community is contingent upon the success or failure of our school district. That is why we have and will continue to strongly support our district’s new leadership in putting children first.
As our new superintendent has said, “Parents should have the right to send their child to any school they deem best for their child.” As we continue to support his and our District’s work to become “a viable choice,” we respectfully ask that you approve our complementary efforts to become an “immediate choice.”
Thank you for your time, consideration and service. My fellow parents and I I look forward to answering any of your questions and/or addressing any of your concerns.To share more about our proposed academic program, I am pleased to introduce the Chief Learning Officer of Responsive Education Solutions, Dr. Alan Wimberley.