Little Rock School District proposes four-tier alternative learning restructure to centralize digital programs and expand supports

Dr. Loring presented a proposal at the Little Rock School District board work session on March 13 to restructure the district’s Alternative Learning Environments for the 2025–26 school year, aiming to consolidate digital services and expand supports for students with nontraditional learning needs.

The plan would keep a revised ALE while adding three layers: an Intensive Learning Environment (ILE) for students needing smaller, more intensive settings; a Digital Learning Academy to bring distance, virtual and accelerated learning programs under one administrative umbrella; and a Digital Learning satellite at Southwest High School to serve virtual and newcomer students with additional language supports.

Why it matters: district leaders said the restructuring is intended to make more efficient use of staff, improve access to services such as Metro career/technical offerings, scale accelerated-graduation supports, and expand social-emotional and mental-health interventions for students who are overage, undercredited, newly arrived to the district or otherwise served outside traditional schools.

Current structure and proposed change

Dr. Loring described the district’s existing nontraditional programs: elementary-level ALE (not part of this proposal), a secondary ALE housed at the former Wilson Elementary campus serving middle and high school students, and an Accelerated Learning Center (ACC) on the Metro campus for overage, undercredited learners. She said the ACC serves around 70 students; she described the secondary ALE as “about 40 students,” and noted the district packet included a detailed breakdown of how services are being delivered. The presentation asked the board to consolidate digital learning staff and supports now split across multiple campuses.

Under the proposal the Digital Learning Academy would combine distance-learning students, virtual students who now attend classes on campus, ACC digital components and other online offerings so a single team could run the program instead of what Dr. Loring said are “four staffs” currently supporting similar platforms. The satellite at Southwest High would replicate ACC services and add newcomer language supports identified as a campus need.

Academic and support components

Dr. Loring said revised ALE offerings would include expanded elective opportunities (fine arts, project-based learning and additional Edgenuity courses), increased SEL supports using a research-based mental‑health curriculum, behavior and incentive realignment, and access to Metro and adult‑education courses. The ILE would maintain the ALE curriculum but with a lower student‑teacher ratio, targeted academic interventions (intensive reading, early numeracy), and greater access to social workers and mental‑health providers. ACC would continue accelerated graduation supports with an eventual plan to add a middle‑school transitional component for students who have been out of school for several years.

Transition supports and outcome tracking

Board members pushed staff for measures of success. Dr. Loring and other staff described plans for a transitions coach position to track outcomes — recidivism between ALE and home schools, graduation and postsecondary enrollment, job placement and career-pathway completions — and to coordinate transition conferences 10–15 days before students move back to traditional campuses. The district said it will use MOUs with local partners (UAPTC and UALR were mentioned) to expand college and career pathways for students leaving ALE/ACC.

Mental‑health and newcomer services

The proposal emphasizes behavioral health and restorative practices. Dr. Loring said the district is working with ALE social work staff and district partners to select an evidence‑based mental‑health curriculum, train behavior specialists and bring in additional mental‑health providers through a state partnership or grant. She said newcomer supports are already being piloted at ACC and would expand in the Digital Learning Academy and the Southwest satellite to address language and transition needs for newly arrived students.

Community input, site visits and phased implementation

Dr. Loring told the board the proposal was developed with cabinet and principals’ input and that the district has begun site visits to peer programs in Cabot, Van Buren, Fayetteville and Tennessee (Nashville) to study program structures and levels of support. She described a phased approach: some elements are already operational and could be copied to a second campus as a satellite, while new pieces (for example, district‑level transitions staff or expanded ILE seats) would require additional planning and would not necessarily launch in year one.

Board questions and next steps

Board members asked for clarity on eligibility, the application and referral process (fast‑tracking older students who need immediate ACC services), and for a monitoring dashboard that would report recidivism, graduation and job/college placement metrics. Staff said they will continue focus groups with students, staff and parents and return to the board with implementation timelines and recommended monitoring measures. Dr. Loring said some changes would require time to research and pilot while other existing program components would be duplicated as satellites where feasible.

What the board did not decide

The work session recorded discussion and questions but no formal vote. Staff requested guidance and time to gather additional community input and to bring detailed implementation steps and metrics back to a future meeting.