charter schools

Arkansas charter schools perform in top half, nationwide study finds

BY: - November 15, 2023

Arkansas charter schools performed slightly above average on a national assessment over the course of a decade, according to a new report released Tuesday.  Arkansas ranked 14th out of 35 states and Washington D.C. in a first-ever ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Arkansas ranked just ahead of […]

Ali Noland, Arkansas State Board of Education

Arkansas education board approves first ‘transformation contract’ under LEARNS Act

BY: - May 5, 2023

The Arkansas State Board of Education on Friday approved a first-of-its-kind arrangement to allow a charter school company to run a public school district under threat of closure. The board voted in favor of a recommendation for the Marvell-Elaine District to enter into a “transformation contract” with the Friendship Education Foundation, the first such agreement […]

The Arkansas State Board of Education holds a public meeting in the Marvell High School gym to discuss the future of the Marvell-Elaine School District on April 13, 2023. The 306-student district was on the cusp of being consolidated with another district because of its size and academic problems. (John Sykes/Arkansas Advocate)

Arkansas board of education to consider state’s first ‘transformation contract’

BY: - May 4, 2023

The Arkansas Board of Education has called a special meeting for Friday to consider allowing the Marvell-Elaine School District to enter into a “transformation contract” with the Friendship Education Foundation.  If approved, the contract between the public school district and the charter management company would be the first of its kind under Gov. Sarah Huckabee […]

Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) (Drew Angerer/Getty

U.S. House GOP preps for debates on ‘parents rights,’ school vouchers and transgender athletes

BY: - February 8, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans laid the groundwork for some top legislative priorities during a Wednesday hearing that examined public funding for charter schools and voucher programs, as well as increasing parents’ oversight of school curriculum.  The Republican chair of the Education and the Workforce Committee, North Carolina Rep. Virginia Foxx, provided a forum for […]