Future School of Fort Smith approved by Arkansas Board of Education, charter school to open in 2016

A public process that began July 9 with several public hearings ended Thursday (Nov. 12) with the Arkansas Board of Education approving a charter for the Future School of Fort Smith – the first public enrollment charter school in the city.

“Here we go Fort Smith,” Flanagan noted in a Facebook post after the Board approved the charter.

While planning for the school began well before July 9, the past several months have been busy  and sometimes tense for Trish Flanagan, director of the Future School effort, and other project supporters.

An application for Future School was filed July 28 with the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE). On Oct. 14 a state panel approved the application for the open enrollment charter school. But prior to that, Fort Smith Public School Board members grilled Flanagan and charter school supporters during a Sept. 14 committee meeting. Most Board members were concerned about the money the district would lose if the charter is approved. Because the charter school is open enrollment, students from any school district in the state may attend. If by year four there are 400 of the 450 students from the Fort Smith School District, the district would see a reduction in state funds of around $2.7 million.

However, the Board would on Sept. 28 vote to endorse the charter.

With charter approval, the school would begin in 2016 with 150 students in 10th grade, and would add 150 students and a grade each year until by year three the school would be home to grades 10-12 and 450 students. Funding for the school would come from the Arkansas Department of Education.

The school concept is based on three “pillars,” according to Flanagan. Those are “real world collaboration,” “project-based learning,” and the use of integrated technologies. Flanagan has said the changing U.S. demographic, technology and its effect on the economy and workplace make it “inevitable” that education systems must constantly evolve and will require communities to “pull together our resources and get smart about how we work together.”

Part of the working within the community includes a partnership with the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith to provide a dual credit option for charter school students.

Flanagan has experience connecting education to the business and entrepreneurial worlds. She has 14 years experience working as an educator working with communities around the United States and abroad. She is the co-founder of Noble Impact, a K-12 education initiative integrating public service with an entrepreneurial mindset. Noble Impact is supported by Steve Clark, founder of Fort Smith-based Propak Logistics.

Prior to starting Noble Impact, Flanagan led the University of Arkansas’ Social Entrepreneurship Pilot Initiative.While completing a concurrent master’s degree at the Clinton School of Public Service and the Walton MBA Program, she co-founded Picasolar, an award-winning (MIT-DOE Clean Energy Prize) solar company.

School benefits touted by the group include:
• Partner with local schools to build and improve new instructional approaches like project-based classrooms and integrated technology to offer a diverse range of options for students and families;
• Students work with advisors and mentors to identify their unique interests and design internships with local businesses and community organizations to explore potential careers;
• Help students to build “a real-world tool box” to be better positioned for career, vocational and college pathways; and
• Students work on standards‐based team projects to develop problem‐solving and communication skills as well as necessary mindsets such as empathy, determination, curiosity, and resilience.