Private Schools Difficult To Track In Arkansas

Last updated Saturday, August 18, 2007 10:43 PM CDT in News

By Rose Ann Pearce
THE MORNING NEWS

Anyone can open a private school in Arkansas, even in the family living room.

Teachers don't have to be licensed.

No standardized tests.

No curriculum requirements.

No graduation requirements.

No minimum number of days a student must be in school.

A source of oversight comes if a school seeks accreditation by a state or national accrediting body, such as the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accreditation Association or Independent Schools Association of the Central States.

Home-Schooling

The state Education Department tracks the number of home-school students and whether those students take the mandated standardized tests each year.

"There is no definition in Arkansas of what a private school is," said Martha Adcock, staff attorney for the Family Council of Arkansas in Little Rock, which provides guidance for home school students. "There is (a definition) for a home-school."

Arkansas accredited private schools, the same as public schools, until 1987 when the state implemented new education standards for public schools. The 1987 standards did not include private schools; hence, private schools fell from state oversight.

Two years later, in 1989, the Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association was incorporated as a nonprofit educational organization. The organization affiliated with the National Federation of Nonpublic School State Accrediting Associations later the same year.

The organization lists 93 accredited private schools in Arkansas as members, with a combined enrollment of 21,407, said Beverly Gray, executive director.

Most of the schools are faith-based, affiliated with the Baptist, Catholic, Church of Christ, Episcopal, Lutheran and Seventh-day Adventist faiths, according to the organization's member list posted on its Web site. Other schools are identified as independent or church-related independent.

Some of the schools, including Fayetteville Christian School and Shiloh Christian School, are also members of the Arkansas Activities Association, which oversees athletics and other competitive school activities.

Other Northwest Arkansas members of the nonprofit school association include St. Joseph Catholic School in Fayetteville, St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School in Rogers and Ozark Adventist Academy in Gentry.

Patrick Wolf, professor of education reform at the University of Arkansas, said Arkansas isn't unusual in its dealings, or lack of dealings, with private schools.

The real oversight of any school comes from parents who have chosen a private school for their children. Parents determine the quality of education by whether the school meets the children's needs.

"It's a buyer's beware principle," said Wolf, whose specialty is school choice issues. He recently came to the university from Georgetown University.

A Healthy Assessment

New School in Fayetteville, one of the region's larger private schools, with 430 students, is in the midst of a self-study of its operations, a major component of accreditation by the state organization.

Bill Mandrell, one of the school's founders and the head of the school for the 36 years, said the self-study pulls teachers together in a yearlong examination of the strengths and weaknesses.

"It's a healthy self-assessment," he said. "Teams of teachers are evaluating every aspect of the school."

"We're close to our classroom capacity," Mandrell said, but added the school emphasis is on the age groups it serves with no plans to expand to the eighth grade or beyond.

New School is one of the few private schools in the area that isn't faith-based.

"We have a strong student-teacher ratio, and we stress positive nurturing learning environment that stresses student success," Mandrell said.

The school offers a strong program in the performing and visual arts and an equally strong program in technology with kindergartners going to the computer laboratory, Mandrell said.

Gray acknowledges accreditation is not an easy process. The process addresses 11 standards and, once accredited, the schools must meet many of the state requirements for public schools, such as graduation requirements.

"We do everything they (public schools) do and some schools do more," she said.

Accreditation is extremely important because it adds a measure of accountability to the school, she noted.

"You have to be accountable to someone for what you're doing," she said. "Through accreditation you can check yourself."

Emma Bass, the Arkansas director of the North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement, said schools -- public or private -- accredited by North Central, or any other accrediting body, must meet the organization's standards.

In the case of private schools the lack of state oversight is not a factor, because the accreditation standards provide the oversight, Bass said.

Wolf said the majority of private schools nationally are accredited by organizations, such as the North Central Association and others, "just not by a governing organization."

From The Ground Up

The state's Catholic schools had a combined enrollment of 7,735 students last year.

St. Raphael opened Thursday with 29 students in kindergarten through third grade. Another 48 children are enrolled in the preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds.

Of the 29 students, 13 are in kindergarten, most of them moving up from the preschool and the rest are spread between grades one through three.

Planning for St. Raphael School began with a vision about the same time as the prekindergarten opened. LaMendola served on an exploratory committee for the new school and was hired as the principal in October. She was a public school principal in Ohio before moving to Arkansas four years ago.

She guided the development of the school, which plans to add a grade each year through the seventh grade.

St. Raphael church leaders are optimistic a decision will be made and a timetable developed to launch a Catholic high school in Northwest Arkansas.

"The diocese will make that final decision," LaMendola said.

A staff of two teachers for the St. Raphael and two for the prekindergarten are in place for the school year. LaMendola will share in some of the teaching. The average experience among the teachers is 15 years.

"To them, it's a ministry, not just a job," she said. "The teachers want to serve the children and share their faith."

A facility on the St. Raphael's Church campus was set aside as the school plans were mapped to build a gymnasium and cafeteria, which will be finished in January. Furniture was located and textbooks selected and purchased.

Tuition to attend St. Raphael School is $2,900 a year. Parents must also provide uniforms and this year, sack lunches for their students.

Much of the tuition goes to salaries and the church subsidizes the rest of the school's operating expenses.

A parishioner helped establish a scholarship fund to provide assistance to families who can't afford the tuition.

The school will follow the same calendar as the Springdale School District with a few exceptions. The main difference is the opening of school; public schools can't open before Aug. 19, according to state law.

On the day before school opened, a group of volunteers worked to put on the finishing touches.

"Many of our volunteers don't have children in the school," LaMendola said. "They just want to see the school be successful."

There is an important difference between Catholic and public education, she said.

"We're building a community," she said, much like the church is considered its own family.

"The focus is to provide for our Catholic parish," LaMendola said. "There's no manual on how to open a school."

But the Catholic Church does provide a manual for the operation of a Catholic school, a book LaMendola keeps within reach on a bookshelf next to her desk.

"We started with a timeline to meet to open the school on Aug. 16," she said.

Projected enrollment for 2007-08 at some of the area's larger private school:

* St. Joseph Catholic School: 340

* St. Vincent de Paul Catholic School: 360

* Ozark Adventist School : 95

* Shiloh Christian School: 760

* Fayetteville Christian School: 284

Source: Individual Schools

AT A GLANCE

Considering A Private School?

Private Schools Report, an Internet site, provides a list of factors to consider when selecting a private school for your child:

* Location -- Keep distance to the school in mind to avoid a long trip. Most private schools don't provide transportation.

* Type of school -- Many private schools have a focus on a particular religion while others focus on a specific gender or curriculum.

* Student-teacher ratio -- You often find smaller class sizes in private school but you will want to examine that closely.

* Cost -- Costs vary, and depending on your financial situation, you may want to search for a private school that offers scholarship programs or financing options.

* Ask your child -- If your child is interested in football or cheerleading, for example, you will want to know what schools offer to meet your child's interests for activities.

* Examine your options -- Schedule meetings with the officials at all local private schools, even if you have your heart set on one particular school.

Source: www.privateschoolsreport.com/

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