Harding Fine Arts Academy and leaders from Stanley Hupfeld Academy asked the Oklahoma City Public Schools board to consider authorizing Stanley Hupfeld as an elementary campus under Harding's oversight.

Jason Mack, OKCPS director of workforce development and charter schools, told the board the district is treating the expiring Stanley Hupfeld contract as a new charter application because the current sole sponsor, Integris Health, is pivoting away from sponsorship. "We are treating this one kinda like a new charter school application instead of a renewal," Mack said, describing the procedural timeline and saying a recommendation to Superintendent Jamie Polk would return to the board in a few weeks for potential action.

Harding Fine Arts Superintendent Jason Brown outlined the rationale: acquiring Stanley Hupfeld would create a PreK'12 continuum under Oklahoma A+ arts-integrated curriculum, preserve effective school leadership, and expand professional-development opportunities. Brown said the plan aims for minimal operational disruption at Stanley Hupfeld, emphasizing continuity of staff, calendar, and programming while providing additional resources.

Ruthie Rayner, principal and acting superintendent of Stanley Hupfeld, described student supports and outcomes in detail. Rayner said the school maintains arts-integrated instruction, a house system, and robust supports for English-language learners; "Currently, we have about a 108 mentors matched to our students," she said, describing one-on-one mentoring and after-school offerings. Rayner also noted consistent letter grades of B on the state report cards for the last three measured years.

Board members focused questions on how the arrangement would work administratively. Brown cited precedents (Santa Fe South, Dove Academy) where a single board and superintendent have overseen multiple LEA numbers authorized by different entities; in this model Stanley Hupfeld would receive a separate LEA number while sharing leadership and some systems. Brown said the arrangement can require duplicate reporting at the district level but allows continuity for families and campus-level leadership.

On funding, presenters said state funding tied to attendance follows the LEA and that a recent state law allows an upfront funding weight (1.3) to help new campus starts. Rayner and Brown said many Integris-supported activities (health initiatives, mentoring) would continue through community partnerships and volunteers even if the sponsorship changes; they noted some legal/asset-transfer questions remain to be resolved.

The presenters described operational details the board requested: a tiered enrollment plan (neighborhood students as tier 1, siblings tier 2, out-of-area thereafter) and a proposal to use Stanley Hupfeld as a transportation hub to shuttle neighborhood students to Harding when they matriculate. Brown also said Harding has already submitted Harding's multi-year report cards in the application packet and that the Harding renewal with USAO is scheduled to begin July 1, 2026.

This item was information-only on Jan. 12; the board did not vote on the sponsorship at the meeting. Board members asked staff to supply supplemental materials (Harding Fine Arts report cards and comparative proficiency data) ahead of the next meeting when the item returns as a possible action.

Next steps: OKCPS staff will review legal and financial details of the sponsorship change and return a recommendation to the board at the next business meeting.