Little Rock School District reviews first year of Promise Academy, expands behavior and autism supports with clinical partners

The Little Rock School District on June 26 reviewed the first year of Promise Academy and outlined expanded district behavior and autism supports that include on-site clinicians, new transition classrooms and professional development.

District leaders told the Board of Education that Promise Academy, an ADE day-school program that began this year at Stevens Elementary, served nine high-need students with intensive individualized instruction and social-emotional supports. Dr. Angelina Giles, who presented the Promise Academy review with Morgan Ewing, said the program recorded measurable gains in oral reading fluency and a marked drop in significant behavioral incidents by the end of the year.

The school-based team credited ongoing reassessment, a classroom "hub" for cooling-off and close coordination with related-service staff for the improvements. "By the second semester, we were really practicing restorative justice ... there were no significant incidents that resulted in suspensions," Giles said.

Separately, the district described plans for Wildcat Achievers, a new behavior/transition program that will operate out of Carver-Washington next school year. Lakita Weston (program administrator) and Angelica Carter (behavior program coordinator) said the plan calls for six specialized classrooms (including K-2 and 3-5 "transition" classrooms) with low student-to-staff ratios, certified teachers, paraprofessionals, behavior interventionists and explicit transition plans for returning students to their home schools.

Weston and Carter said staff will receive concentrated professional development the week of July 21 on sensory regulation, trauma-informed classrooms, SafetyCare de-escalation, medication education and other essential behavior concepts. The program will include ongoing coaching and staff-wellness support.

Because the district has been cited for disproportionality in suspensions and removals, the division of special programs said it is using Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) funds to expand services. School leaders said approximately $864,000 in CCEIS-directed spending will support mental-health partnerships, parent training and staff professional development; they emphasized 50% of CCEIS spending must serve students who are not identified as having disabilities.

To bring clinical expertise on-site, the district introduced two licensed providers who will be contracted: Dr. Karen Moore (licensed psychologist, private practice) and Dr. Kyla Holmes (licensed clinical psychologist, Shalom Wellness Services). An advanced practice psychiatric nurse (nurse Byers) will be available for medication education and consultation; presenters stressed clinicians will not mandate medication nor will the district itself prescribe—medication management would occur only if parents engage the contracted clinicians as the family's provider. Clinicians said they will provide individual and group therapy, family consultation and staff training; all direct services require parental consent.

The Board also heard an update on the autism program piloted at Western Hills Elementary. Angelica Carter described a therapy/sensory room shared with related-service providers (speech, OT, PT) and said the program served 16 students this year with gains in language, self-regulation and reduced elopement. Western Hills staff requested additional sensory space, clearer communication of program goals and more staffing to sustain transitions back to general education.

Board members asked whether the district is billing Medicaid directly for on-site services and how the district will manage capacity if demand grows. Presenters said many families use existing insurance or Medicaid to access providers, and that the district is not currently billing Medicaid directly; they said some students attend summer behavioral-health camps and that staff will return with a classroom/financial plan for scaling capacity.

The district described transition steps for students leaving Promise or the behavior programs: coordinated handoffs, home-school training and short-term follow-up by behavior interventionists. Leaders said the ultimate goal is inclusion and generalization of skills in mainstream settings.

Board discussion ranged from requests for cost comparisons (outside placement versus in-district services) to operational questions about staffing and sustaining the model. Director Adams asked for a later financial comparison; presenters agreed to provide a cost comparison for future planning.

The district characterized the new programs as part of a multi-pronged approach: smaller classroom settings for skill remediation, mental-health partnerships for clinical support, staff training on de-escalation and sensory regulation, and transition pathways to general education.

The Board did not take a formal vote on program expansion at the June 26 meeting; presenters asked for direction and said staffing recruitment and summer professional development are underway.