The Arkansas Charter Authorizing Panel approved the expansion of LISA Academy charter school system into Northwest Arkansas.
The panel endorsed LISA Academy’s proposal to add a license to its existing state-issued charter to acquire Ozark Montessori, change the name of the school to LISA Academy-Springdale and make Little Scholars of Arkansas (LISA) Foundation the sponsoring nonprofit organization for the Springdale school.
LISA Academy also asked to increase its 2,700 enrollment cap to 3,300 students to allow an enrollment of 600 at the Springdale campus.
But the panel cut that to 300.
The charter panel also:
• Approved Capital City Lighthouse Academy’s request to alter the grades the North Little Rock school serves from kindergarten through 12th grades to kindergarten through eighth grades.
• Approved Fayetteville School District’s Virtual Academy request to serve only fourth through 12th grades for the time being rather than expand to kindergarten through third grades, as was initially planned.
• Approved Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School’s request to waive state requirements for a counselor and librarian/media specialist at the 82-student school in Pine Bluff. Those services are being divided among multiple staff, school leader Alex Noguerola said.
• Approved Little Rock Preparatory Academy’s request for a waiver of the state’s teacher minimum salary schedule law. School leaders believed that they had previously received the waiver.
The panel’s recommendations now go to the Arkansas Board of Education for review.
Read Tuesday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.
