Hamilton ALE to add arts-integrated elective via 7 Yellow Mornings contractor

The Little Rock School District Board of Directors on Sept. 11 heard a presentation on a proposed supplemental contract with 7 Yellow Mornings to provide arts-integrated, career-focused content for an elective at Hamilton Alternative Learning Environment (ALE).

District staff told the board that, after concerns at an earlier meeting, the district reassigned a licensed teacher to Hamilton to meet course licensure requirements and is now proposing to contract with 7 Yellow Mornings to provide supplemental programming. Dr. Wright said the board had “the proposal” and a document that “shows the difference between the services that she will be providing and then what the teacher's responsibilities are.”

Christy Strong, Hamilton principal, told the board the contractor has worked at Hamilton since the school year began and praised the classroom environment: “Miss Morne has come in. She's built relationships with teachers, with the students as well. To this point, I have not had 1 discipline problem out of her classroom at all.” Strong said the arts work has functioned as an intervention, allowing students to express feelings through poetry and artwork and helping staff better understand students’ needs.

Florene Morning (presented in materials as the 7 Yellow Mornings instructor) described her approach as “arts integrated learning,” tailored to students’ interests and needs. She said students at ALE have welcomed the work and are preparing a student-led showcase titled Misunderstood for Oct. 2 that will feature poetry, music, fashion and other student work intended “to flip those negative stereotypes of kids who are in ALE and turn [them] into positive affirmations.”

Board members and staff asked about outcome data. Dr. Wright and staff said it is early in the school year and the district will collect recidivism and program-impact measures to include in end-of-year reporting and in district “profile of a graduate” metrics. Strong said she is already using student writing and activities from the 7 Yellow Mornings work to inform daily practice and exit planning for students who return to traditional high schools.

Several board members encouraged the district to bring back quantitative measures at semester or year-end so the board can see whether the program reduces repeat placements and supports student transitions back to larger high schools. No vote was taken on the contract during the work session; presenters said the written proposal and a service-description table were in board materials.

The board also heard suggestions to keep the ALE program visible in district convocation events and to involve community members in the Oct. 2 showcase.

Plans and next steps described at the meeting: finalize the contract language that defines the contractor’s supplemental role (not a replacement for the licensed teacher), collect baseline and follow-up outcome data for ALE students, and report results to the board at semester or year end.