Approval from the Higher Learning Commission recently designated Lakeside High School as an official satellite campus of National Park College.
Lakeside and NPC announced the Lakeside Legacy Program in January 2015 in which students could earn up to 66 hours of college credit and an associate degree by the time they graduated. The two have worked together in the past two years to earn accreditation from the HLC to establish Lakeside as a satellite campus.
"That was approved just recently, right before Christmas break," said Lakeside Superintendent Shawn Cook Tuesday evening during the Lakeside School Board's monthly meeting in the Lakeside High School Technology Center.
"We were trying to find the right time to make this big announcement because it is historic. Our kids are going to be able to take 66 hours of college credit at no cost to them or their families right now."
Cook said he first declared to the board in 2009 he wanted a college presence on campus. Lakeside hired Cook in 2004 from Magnet Cove.
"I didn't really think about the associate degree at the time, but I was thinking I just wanted more college and I wanted it to be free to our kids if there is any way possible for us to do that," Cook said.
Discussions accelerated several years ago when board President Carla Mouton saw how beneficial an associate degree had been for her granddaughter in Florida, who was one of only two graduating seniors in her class of more than 600 to earn a degree in high school.
"National Park (College) is a treasure," Mouton said. "I have told that to John since he has been around. Lakeside is the most amazing place I know when it comes to schools. We have a passion for our students, we have a dedicated staff, we have an amazing group of parents, who all demand good education and because all of these things came together, we are where we are this evening."
NPC President John Hogan also received early input from a Lakeside School Board member after he was hired in 2014. Former Lakeside board member, past and current NPC Foundation board member and now state Rep. Les Warren, R-District 25, said he felt the college should have closer connections to the K-12 schools.
Cook and Hogan praised the partnership. Hogan said the college's staff felt like a team with the like-minded Lakeside, in which both institutions believe students are most important.
"We care a lot more about their opportunities, their attainment and what difference that makes for the state of Arkansas and Garland County," Hogan said. "We cared about all of those things a lot more than we cared about the turf and the money and the other obstacles that were in front of us."
Hogan credited the work of Connie Poteet, concurrent credit coordinator, and Wade Derden, vice president for academic affairs, in the accreditation process. Both institutions had to complete a series of applications and site visits.
"Our support and involvement in the Legacy program at Lakeside stems from our belief that the program has the potential to provide a valuable service to the community," Derden said before the meeting.
"The Legacy program is important to Garland County because it allows an opportunity for children from families with very few resources to get a college education at no cost while in high school. The key is unlocking that pathway to college for students."
Representatives from the HLC reviewed the quality of instructional resources, such as registration, advising, career counseling and placement, and library access. Financial resources and sustainability plans were required. The college had to provide ample evidence of effectively overseeing instruction at Lakeside to maintain equivalent assessment and evaluation methods as those on the college's campus.
National Park College is the second higher education institution in Arkansas to hold HLC accreditation on a high school campus. Greenbrier High School previously became a satellite campus for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Cook and other representatives from Lakeside studied the relationship between Greenbrier and UALR to learn what could be possible with the Legacy program. Lakeside representatives traveled to Magnolia to receive approval from the Arkansas Department of Higher Education Coordinating Board.
Assessments from the HLC verify qualified and sufficient staff and faculty are available. The commission requires the partnership deliver, support and manage necessary student services according to specified standards.
Recent changes to the requirements for high school instructors for concurrent credit courses affected the concurrent enrollment for National Park College. The standards require all college-level faculty have a master's degree in their content areas or a master's degree plus 18 graduate hours in the content areas.
Cook praised the work of Lakeside faculty to meet the standards. The changes meant some instructors needed to earn more hours to meet the requirements, but Lakeside's board voted to cover the expenses.
NPC sought and received an extension through January 2019 on the credential requirement for all of their high school partners. The credentials extension and Lakeside's commitment to offset the costs of extra graduate hours for the Legacy program faculty were key factors in the program's approval.
Warren said Tuesday's announcement was a stark contrast to when he joined the board while the district was in fiscal distress. He served on the board when Cook was hired. Warren credited Cook for helping the district improve its standing.
"So to come to this day to such a major success like this, it's just phenomenal to me," Warren said.
Warren vowed to share the success of Lakeside's partnership with National Park College in the state Legislature.
"I know there is a lot of fight for private schools, but I stand in Little Rock as a strong advocate for public schools because of what I have seen that they can do here at Lakeside public schools," Warren said. "This community is a shining example of what can happen when we work together, thinking outside the box."
Local on 02/22/2017