District Newsletter Vol. 3, 25-26

As we begin summer, I want to thank you—our parents, grandparents, guardians, caregivers, and community partners—for the trust, encouragement, and support you have shown Arkansas Arts Academy all year long. Because of you, our students have learned, performed, created, exhibited, stretched, persevered, and grown. We are deeply grateful for this parent community, and we are excited about the future we are building together.

This past school year reminded us once again what makes AAA so special. Our students and staff represented the very best of our mission through exhibitions, performances, and authentic learning experiences that reached far beyond the classroom. We hosted the 2025 National Association of Museum Schools conference here in Rogers, and our students helped prepare an exhibition that showcased AAA’s arts-integrated teaching and our partnerships with museums and community organizations. At Crystal Bridges, families experienced AAA Night @ the Museum as our students activated galleries and grounds through dance, music, theatre, and cross-curricular presentations. At A3 Gallery, our students filled downtown Rogers with arts-integration installations, culinary fundraising, Senior Showcases and community exhibitions that made learning visible in beautiful ways.

We also have much to celebrate academically. Arkansas Arts Academy High School was recognized by the Office for Education Policy at the University of Arkansas for high growth on the ATLAS, including recognition for overall growth and for growth in both math and English language arts. AAA also reported historic success on the 2024 ATLAS growth measures and announced that the high school earned a B on the 2025 Arkansas report card. These accomplishments reflect the commitment of our teachers, the perseverance of our students, and the support of our families. They remind us that arts integration and strong academics do not compete with one another at AAA—they strengthen one another.

This year also brought special recognition for the people who make our school thrive. We proudly honored Mrs. LaVona Cerna and Mr. Keith Todd as building level teachers of the year, and then celebrated with Mr. Keith Todd as we was nominated to be our 2026 District Teachers of the Year. We also celebrated student learning through memorable projects such as our sixth-grade exhibition work, our partnerships with Hugs From Friends, our museum-connected studies, and our selection to represent Arkansas in the National Scrollathon. On top of that, grants such as the Healthier Generation Full Futures Grant and the DICK’S Sporting Goods Foundation Sports Matter grant are helping us expand hands-on learning, school gardens, wellness, and opportunity for students across our campuses.

As we look ahead to 2026–2027, one of our most important commitments is this: AAA will make a diligent effort to reduce student screen time by at least 60% during the school day. This is not about rejecting technology altogether. Technology still has a place. But we want that place to be purposeful, limited, and instructionally necessary—not constant. We want more time for students to read real texts, write by hand, calculate without always reaching for a screen, reflect through journals and artist statements, build with materials, rehearse, sketch, discuss, perform, and create. This direction is consistent with our existing “Disconnect to Reconnect” philosophy, which emphasizes students’ need to reconnect with “teachers, creativity, peers and learning.” This change also aligns beautifully with who we are as an arts-integrated school. The arts ask students to use their hands, eyes, voices, bodies, and imaginations. They ask students to revise, reflect, and make meaning. They invite students to notice detail, solve problems, and connect ideas across disciplines. As one recent reflective-learning source put it, reflection helps students make “deeper connections,” and tactile learning helps children “engage multiple senses.” That is exactly the kind of learning environment we want to continue building at AAA.

We are also excited to welcome and support staff members stepping into new roles for the coming year, including Jamie Dale as the Director of Curriculum and Assessment, Dr. Ellen Watts as Director of Student Services and Austin Smithers as High School Assistant Principal, as well as the new hire of Dr. Ron Mitchell as High School Principal. These additions and transitions will help us expand student support, strengthen school climate, and continue broadening our academic and arts offerings. We are also thrilled to welcome newly enrolled families joining AAA for 2026–2027 with a new family Meet and Greet on June 1, 2026 beginning at 5:30 pm

Thank you for believing in this school and in the power of what arts-integrated education can do for children. Thank you for every ride to rehearsal, every gallery visit, every conference, every encouraging word, every packed lunch, every form signed, every question asked, and every partnership offered. I hope your summer is filled with rest, books, music, laughter, creativity, and time together. We have so much to celebrate, and even more to look forward to. The future of Arkansas Arts Academy is bright, and I am grateful we get to build it together.

With gratitude and regards,

Dr. Allison Roberts
CEO, Arkansas Arts Academy

The District Administration office has moved into the AAA High School building.

If you would like to make an appointment to meet with Dr. Roberts-CEO, Renee Farris- Director of Operations and HR, Jamie Dale- Director of Curriculum and Assessment- please email or contact Susan Perrine McDaniel- Administrative Assistant and HS Front Desk Manager @ sperrinemcdaniel@artsk12.org

Arkansas families today have more educational choices than ever before, and with that opportunity comes an important question: What kind of learning environment will help my child thrive?

At Arkansas Arts Academy, we are proud to provide families with a truly unique educational option unlike any other in our state. AAA is Arkansas’s only tuition-free, open-enrollment PreK–12 public charter school centered on arts integration and museum-focused learning. Families from more than 20 communities across Northwest Arkansas choose AAA because they are seeking an educational experience that values creativity, academic rigor, innovation, belonging, and authentic student engagement.

School choice matters because every child learns differently.

Some students thrive through traditional instruction, while others flourish when learning becomes hands-on, collaborative, artistic, experiential, and connected to the real world. At AAA, students are not asked to fit into a single mold. Instead, we work to help students discover their strengths, passions, and voice through meaningful learning experiences that connect academics with creativity.

What makes AAA special is that the arts are not “extra” here—they are integrated into the learning process itself.

Students may explore mathematics through music, history through theatre, science through visual art, literacy through storytelling and performance, or social studies through museum partnerships and exhibitions. This approach helps students build deeper understanding, stronger engagement, and lasting connections to their learning.

Our partnerships with organizations such as Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, The Scott Family Amazeum, Rogers Historical Museum, and many other community organizations provide opportunities for students to learn beyond the walls of a traditional classroom. Through performances, exhibitions, internships, artist residencies, and community collaborations, students experience learning as something alive, connected, and meaningful.

AAA is also proud to be part of the growing movement of innovative public schools helping redefine what education can look like in Arkansas. Families should have access to educational environments that align with the needs of their children, and school choice creates pathways for innovation, creativity, and opportunity.

At AAA, we believe students deserve:

• Rigorous academics
• Safe and supportive environments
• Opportunities for creativity and self-expression
• Hands-on and experiential learning
• Strong relationships with teachers and peers
• Access to the arts regardless of family income
• The ability to discover confidence through authentic learning experiences

We are deeply grateful to the families who choose Arkansas Arts Academy and trust us with their children each day. Your partnership allows us to continue growing a school culture built on creativity, compassion, innovation, and excellence.

As we look toward the future, we remain committed to expanding opportunities for students, strengthening arts-integrated learning, building community partnerships, and ensuring that every child who walks through our doors feels seen, valued, inspired, and challenged to reach their highest potential.

Thank you for being part of the AAA family and for supporting the power of public school choice in Arkansas.

As summer begins, one of the greatest gifts we can give our children is the opportunity to read. In a world increasingly filled with screens, notifications, videos, and endless scrolling, books continue to provide something powerful and lasting—they stretch imagination, strengthen focus, expand vocabulary, build empathy, and ignite curiosity.

At Arkansas Arts Academy, we encourage all students to spend time this summer reading real books, writing, creating, imagining, and exploring the world beyond a screen. Summer reading is one of the most important ways families can help students avoid the “summer slide,” the learning loss that can occur when students disengage from reading and critical thinking during extended breaks from school.

Research consistently shows that students who continue reading during the summer return to school with stronger comprehension, improved vocabulary, greater writing stamina, and increased academic confidence. Even 20–30 minutes of reading each day can make a tremendous difference.

But summer reading should not feel like a chore—it should feel like an adventure.

Read a mystery under a shady tree. Visit the library and let your child choose books connected to their interests. Read together before bedtime. Encourage older students to explore biographies, fantasy novels, graphic novels, poetry, history, or books connected to the arts. Let children see adults reading too. When students see reading modeled at home, they begin to understand that reading is not simply a school task—it is a lifelong habit.

This summer is also a wonderful opportunity to intentionally reduce screen time. While technology certainly has value, too much screen exposure can impact focus, creativity, sleep, and sustained attention. Books ask students to slow down, visualize, imagine, reflect, and think deeply in ways that scrolling often does not.

At AAA, we believe deeply in engaging students through authentic, hands-on, arts-integrated experiences—and reading is part of that creative process. Great books inspire artwork, theatre, music, storytelling, writing, invention, and meaningful conversation. Reading fuels creativity.

Some simple ways to support literacy this summer include:

• Create a family reading time each evening
• Visit your local library or bookstore
• Start a summer reading journal
• Read aloud together as a family
• Encourage students to sketch or create art inspired by a story
• Limit unnecessary recreational screen time
• Let students choose books they genuinely enjoy

Most importantly, celebrate reading. Celebrate curiosity. Celebrate imagination.

The pages of a book can transport students anywhere—to different cultures, historical moments, magical worlds, scientific discoveries, and new perspectives. Great readers become great thinkers, creators, innovators, and leaders.

We hope your summer is filled with rest, creativity, family time, and wonderful books.

For summer reading list suggestions- visit:

https://k-12readinglist.com/

https://www.teenbookcloud.com/Home.aspx

Post photos of your AAA students reading and add #arkansasartsacademy. Show us what you are reading!

Happy Reading, AAA Families!

Arkansas Arts Academy's 2026 Celebrate the Arts Gala has been rescheduled until November 7, 2026. If you have already purchased tickets, they will be held until the Gala. If you have not purchased tickets, you still have time. We are also seeking event sponsors and silent auction items. Please reach out to Dr. Roberts at aroberts@artsk12.org

Thank you in advance. We are so excited to have this adult only evening to celebrate the amazing visual and performing arts staff while we raise funds for the Performing Arts Center (PAC) renovation.

To purchase your tickets or for more information go to: https://celebrate-the-arts-2026.fundraiser.support/

• Follow AAA on social media and reshare our enrollment posts.

• Invite neighbors to student showcases and the A3 Gallery.

• Send us your story—why you chose AAA and what you notice in your child’s growth.

Thank you for helping AAA ensure every student is seen, heard, and challenged through the power of arts and innovation.

Share this newsletter with someone who might be interested in AAA- or fill out the prospective family link. We would love to welcome your friends and family.

AAA is an Education Freedom Account vendor- Homeschool families are welcome to reach out and discover what courses might enrich your students educational experience.

Click here for more information!

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScvm7ONQY4R1VzH7WZ0VK3EAW3fsqcer1OVfJm_TPLQOzqp7g/viewform?usp=sharing