HOPE – An innovative partnership established in 2018 between the Hope Public Schools and the University of Arkansas-Hope is the basis for the University of Arkansas Hope-Texarkana as a finalist for the nationally prestigious Bellwether Consortium Award.
The Hope Collegiate Academy, a grades 10-12 collegiate immersive academy operated on the UAH campus since 2019, has been selected along with a Texarkana counterpart as a finalist program in the Instructional Programs and Services category for the award. The HCA is the only academic innovation program of its kind in Arkansas, and provides a three-year immersive curriculum that allows students to obtain a high school diploma and an Associate of Arts degree simultaneously and free of cost to the student’s family.
“The initial partnership between HPS and UAHT was just the beginning of a promising and transformational future,” Dr. Crossley said.
He said the initiative has long-term implications not only for students, but for the greater Hope community.
“HPS is poised to expand enrollment in the Collegiate Academy and Career Center in an effort to change the profile of Hope High School graduates,” Crossley said. “The Collegiate Academy is part of a comprehensive strategy to reimagine a high school diploma. It is the goal that in the next four years, every student that graduates from Hope High School will either have an Associate’s degree or a professional certification and skilled trade.”
Crossley said the goal is attainable.
“This is not just a pipe dream; it is possible because of the partnership with UAHT,” he said. ”In doing this, we believe the expanded opportunities for all students will create further opportunities for industry and K-12 partnership.
“This will ultimately bolster the community,” Crossley said. “The local public schools are a key part of the health of the community, and Hope is no different. We are proud of our students and their bright futures.”
Initiated through collaborations spearheaded by former HPS Superintendent Dr. Bobby Hart and former UAHT Chancellor Chris Thomason, the concept was formally adopted by both the UAHT Board of Visitors and the HPS Board of Education in 2018 and classes began in 2019.
The original class cohort graduated as the first in Arkansas to receive high school diplomas and AA degrees in May, 2021.
The program has since been expanded onto the UA-Texarkana campus through a partnership with the Texarkana Arkansas School District.
Finalist programs for the Bellwether Award will be reviewed in January, 2022, at the Community College Futures Assembly in San Antonio, Texas, based upon a 60-minute presentation.
“The Bellwether College Consortium prides itself on identifying and celebrating replicable, scalable, and results-based programs and models and disseminating these highly lauded examples of institutional success to peer institutions,” Dr. Rose Martinez, director of the Bellwether College Consortium, said.
The UAHT presentation will be made by UAHT Dean of Secondary Programs Mikki Curtis, UAHT Dean of Institutional Effectiveness John Hollis, and UAHT Vice Chancellor for Academics Laura Clark.
“These academies help students get ahead, learn to work hard, and save them and their parents thousands of dollars,” Curtis said. “The hard work of everyone involved in creating these programs has paid off, not only in being nominated for this award but in seeing our students walk across the graduation stage with a high school diploma and an associate degree at the same time at no cost to them.”