ARKADELPHIA -- The Southwest Arkansas College Preparatory Academy has received a $490,552 grant for 2014-2015.
This is the fourth year that the College and Career Readiness Planning grant has been awarded to the academy. The grant must be renewed each year.
The academy is designed to prepare high school students for college. It targets eighth-grade students who want to attend college but score below the benchmarks required for unconditional admission to college. The scores are determined by the EXPLORE pre-ACT test.
The program began as part of the High School Redesign Initiative of the Southwest-A Education Renewal Zone at Henderson State University and the Arkansas Department of Education. Leaders from Arkadelphia Public Schools, Henderson State, Ouachita Baptist University, College of the Ouachitas, Dawson Educational Cooperative, Southern Bancorp, Ross Foundation, Clark County Strategic Plan and others participated in the development of the Academy in 2009.
"The project was solely funded with private money from Southern Bancorp and the Ross Foundation for the first three years," said Paulette Blacknall, director of Henderson's Education Renewal Zone. "We worked with (former) state Rep. Johnnie Roebuck to access the state funds to operate the program."
The Prep Academy expanded in its second year to include the Centerpoint and Gurdon School Districts, with the Cabe Foundation and Olds Foundation joining the partnership. Henderson and its partners have expanded the Prep Academy into a regional initiative with the inclusion of four colleges and 15 school districts.
SWACPA currently serves 472 students, with successive grade levels of students added each year. Capacity will be 784 students once all grades are offered at every campus. Each of the four college campuses has its own academy and staff under the umbrella of the HSU Renewal Zone, Blacknall said.
All ninth-grade students are invited to apply for the academy. The students participate as an intervention to eliminate the need for remediation in college.
Each student's progress is monitored annually to create a seamless transition to college. Students are taught by teaching teams, which include a high school teacher and a college professor, who use curriculum focusing on math, English and reading.
The academy holds classes on selected Saturdays from October through May and two weeks in June. In addition to the CCRP grant, the program is funded by local school districts and grants from private foundations.
All classes and activities are offered at no cost to the students.
The success of the SWAPCA has attracted national attention.
"We have been asked to present at national and regional conferences," Blacknall said. "People want to hear about the model, and some want to come visit to look at the model."
National Park Community College participates in the program with students from Cutter Morning Star, Hot Springs and Mountain Pine. Students from Bismarck, Magnet Cove and Malvern attend the academy at the College of the Ouachitas.
School on 08/31/2014