From the Arkansas Advocate:
The Arkansas State Board of Education granted permission to the Blytheville School District to enter into the state’s second transformation contract during a special meeting Wednesday.
A transformation contract allows a public school with a “D” or “F”-rating or one classified as in need of Level 5–Intensive Support to partner with an open-enrollment public charter school or another state-approved entity to create a “transformation campus.” The LEARNS Act, a 2023 law that overhauled the state’s K-12 education system, provides for the partnerships.
The state board dissolved the Blytheville School Board in May and placed the struggling eastern Arkansas district under a Level 5–Intensive Support classification due to ongoing academic, financial and administrative issues. The designation marks the highest level of state intervention or support.
The Arkansas Department of Education issued a request for proposals in May to establish a transformation contract for the educational and administrative management of the district.
ADE Deputy Commissioner Stacy Smith told the state board Wednesday that eight different groups showed interest and six completed the full application process. Four advanced to final interviews with a committee in Blytheville, which led Smith to recommend that the board allow the district to enter into a transformation contract with AMS Impact Group.
The charter management organization manages the Academies of Math & Science in Little Rock and nine other schools in Arizona, according to the company’s website.
Smith said the committee felt the organization was committed to Blytheville and understanding the community. Prior to interviews, AMS representatives spent days living in the community and talking to residents at local restaurants, she said.
“They were about one of the only groups who actually showed that they had a real interest, not just in running the school, but being part of the community,” Smith said. “They definitely sold themselves to the folks who were on the committee that day.”
AMS personnel have already been working with ADE staff in Blytheville. If a contract is approved, Smith said they’ll be responsible for the district’s daily operation, curriculum instructional support, direct support to personnel and professional development. The group has also brought in a “robust community engagement plan” that could include a community advisory board that would provide feedback on how the district was operating, she said.
“Transformation is beginning, but we have a long way to go in Blytheville,” Smith said.
After the board unanimously voted to allow Blytheville to enter into a transformation contract, Education Secretary Jacob Oliva noted the decision to dissolve the board was not done lightly and was the “culmination of a year’s worth of work trying to get things sorted.”
“This is a district that couldn’t even get a toilet to work,” Oliva said. “So when the expectation is that basic facilities can’t work, how can we expect students to learn?”
Over the last two months, Oliva said ADE staff and the community have made getting the first day of school right for students and families their top priority. The AMS team has also been onsite and meeting with families, and “the amount of excitement around Blytheville schools is contagious,” he said.
“Students are telling teachers and administrators that they feel like this might be the first time that they actually learn something…this is such an exciting time, and we’re going to see monumental gains very quickly because we are now focused on students and not adults,” Oliva said.
The education board approved the state’s first transformation contract between the Marvell-Elaine School District and Friendship Education Foundation, a charter management company, in May 2023.
The contract’s initial term was set for July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2026. The contract could be terminated early or extended. Under the agreement, the foundation would be compensated $50,000 for the transition term, which lasted until June 30, 2023, and $200,000 annually during the initial term.
