Arkansas Charter School Awards
For more than 25 years, education’s most innovative community and school leaders have gone above and beyond to meet the needs of children in Arkansas. The charter school supporters, coming from diverse racial, socio-economic, and political backgrounds, are united by their shared belief in the life-changing effect of a high-quality public education. APSRC recognizes these individuals and schools at our charter school conference. Please use the links below to learn more about the awards and submit your nominations.
The deadline to submit nominations for the 2023 Charter School Awards is 4 pm on Friday, April 14.
Arkansas Charter School Teacher of the Year
The Arkansas Public School Resource Center is now accepting nominations for the 2023 Arkansas Charter School Teacher of the Year. Each public charter school campus in Arkansas may select one teacher as its Charter School Teacher of the Year and nominate that teacher for the Arkansas Charter School Teacher of the Year. The deadline to submit your nomination is 4 pm, Friday, April 7, 2023.
A selection panel assembled by APSRC will review the applications and select the Arkansas Charter School Teacher of the Year.
Candidates must meet the following minimum criteria:
- Must be skillful and dedicated teachers in grades kindergarten through 12.
- Must be engaged directly in instruction in a classroom setting for more than 70 percent of the individual’s contracted time.
- Instructional Facilitators must be engaged directly in instruction with students in a classroom setting for more than seventy percent (70%) of the individual’s contracted time to qualify.
- Librarians and Guidance Counselors are eligible to participate.
- Administrators are not eligible.
This recognition is not tied to the DESE’s Arkansas Teacher of the Year or the National Teacher of the Year programs.
2022 Arkansas Charter School Teacher of the Year
Brianna Reynolds
Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff
Arkansas Charter School Trailblazers
The Arkansas Charter School Trailblazer Awards is presented annually to recognize outstanding schools that are implementing innovative best practices. The schools nominated should be helping “blaze a trail” for charter schools across the State and Nation as they branch out and explore new strategies. Open-enrollment and district-conversion charter schools may be nominated.
Nominate your charter school today and tell us about the innovation that’s occurring in your schools!
2022 Arkansas Charter School Trailblazers
Hope Academy of Northwest Arkansas
Centerpoint Academy of Agriculture & Skilled Trades
Arkansas Charter School Changemakers
The Arkansas Charter School Changemaker Awards is presented annually to recognize outstanding individuals who are making positive change in their school communities. The nominations should highlight the meaningful impact the candidate is making in their charter schools. Open-enrollment and district-conversion charter staff may be nominated.
Nominate your charter school staff members today and tell us about the impact they’re making in their schools!
2022 Arkansas Charter School Changemakers
Dr. Fatih Bogrek, LISA Academy
Jennifer Ford, Southside Charter High School
Arkansas Champion for Charters
Many charter schools and their students benefit from the generous donations of time, energy, and support provided by industry partners and volunteers in their community. The Arkansas Charter School Champion for Charters Award will be presented to recognize charter school partners that support and enrich the educational experience for students who attend open-enrollment charter schools. Together, we are better and can do more for kids.
Nominate an individual or organization and tell us how they have been a champion for your charter!
Arkansas Charter School Leader of the Year
The Arkansas Charter School Leaders Awards is presented to APSRC Charter Leadership Institute participants who demonstrate exceptional professional growth and leadership.
2022 Arkansas Charter School Leader of the Year
Jherrithan Dukes, Friendship Aspire Academy Pine Bluff
Arkansas Charter School Hall of Fame
The Arkansas Charter School Hall of Fame will include individuals and organizations that have pioneered the development and growth of charter schools, implemented innovative ideas, and inspired others in the movement. From those who are inducted this year, one will be chosen to receive the Arkansas Charter School Lifetime Achievement Award.
The Arkansas Charter School Lifetime Achievement Award will be granted to an extraordinary individual who has devoted tireless passion in support of charter schools and dedicated his/her life to accomplishing significant results for the charter school movement.
Please complete the form to nominate an individual or organization for the Arkansas Charter School Hall of Fame. Nominations will remain open until April 7, 2023.
Kathy Smith
Kathy Smith’s life has been dedicated to improving education in Arkansas and the surrounding region, from her time as a teacher and school and district administrator to serving as the manager of K-12 grants and education policy. For the last 20 years, Kathy has led philanthropic and policy efforts for the Walton Personal Philanthropy Group in the Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma regions, including investments in charter school operations and facilities assistance. In 2022, she co-founded EdVision LLC, which consults with the Walton Personal Philanthropy group on K-12 policy for the three-state region.
Barbara Hunter Cox
Born and raised by a military father and a quintessential southern mother, she is no stranger to travel. Graduating from college in 1972, with a career that spanned across six states, and leadership skills that traversed from the classroom, to central office, to the boardroom, she is an educator in every sense of the word. Always thinking outside the box, her life has been committed to one enduring theme; “how do we provide an education that best meets the needs of ALL students?” She is a champion for special education, alternative education, education in the juvenile justice system, rural education, and yes, our beloved Charter Schools. Her passion and ability to make things happen have benefitted thousands of students, teachers, and school leaders throughout the country.
On June 30, 2016, Dr. Bobbie Davis retired from her position as the Director of Finance Services for the Arkansas Public School Resource Center. Bobbie had an illustrious career spanning Arkansas education from the classroom to the Superintendency, to Adjunct Professor to serving as the Assistant Commissioner for Fiscal and Administrative Services for the Arkansas Department of Education, and joining Scott Smith in establishing APSRC.
What set Bobbie apart was not just her vast wealth of knowledge and expertise but her deep commitment to helping educators solve the problems they were facing. She had an exceptional commitment to excellence, a network of experts who were always ready to assist her because they believed in her, and the ability to be a leader and a colleague to each educator she served. She believed in the power of education to transform lives, and she lived that commitment every day. She supported educators and changed public education in Arkansas, with her legacy continuing today.