Joint Performance Review (JPR)
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members if you'll take your seats
we'll get started good morning welcome to joint performance review committee I'm setting in for Senator Hickey which is the Senate chair today and he couldn't be here and appreciate my co-chair representative gassaway and representative if you have any
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
7:31
comments feel free i also want to thank all the members who are here today for this meeting i guess first let me say that of course the meeting today is going to focus on some issues that have arisen with the Arkansas School for Math and Sciences. These were issues that were brought to me actually in the early part of the summer by several of
our fellow legislators who had heard from their constituents who had students at the school who were concerned about some issues with the administration and various things that were they brought to the attention of their parents who then and brought those issues to their legislators. From there, those issues were brought to the administration of the Arkansas School for Math and Sciences, and they conducted an internal investigation into some of these issues and asked that we hold off on having a JPR meeting until they could conduct their own independent investigation
and then have a report that followed that investigation. They did that, and we agreed to hold off on a meeting. And following that, there were at least two closed-door meetings with administration from the University of Arkansas and the School for Math and Sciences and several legislators who were concerned about these issues. Following those meetings, I want to make it clear that my understanding is that most of these issues have been addressed and that there is corrective action that's being taken to correct the issues that were brought to the attention of leadership
and the administration, and that the meeting today is really more about transparency because we don't do business in the dark, and we believe that if there are issues that existed and that folks were concerned about, that those need to be addressed in public, not behind closed doors with legislators and administrators. And so this meeting today is to bring some transparency to the process and to allow those concerns to be addressed out in the open and to show very clearly what corrective action is being
taken. And so we appreciate the cooperation of the administration of the University of Arkansas and also the Arkansas School for Math and Sciences on meeting with legislators, addressing the issues that have been brought to their attention, and then again today for being here to address these issues in the open. So thank you very much. And with that, I guess we need to call our witnesses forward thank you representative
gasway and as uh are those who are going to present today if
you'll come on up and the members while they're making their way to the front table uh we need to you've got minutes from the last meeting september 11th 2019 meeting if you've reviewed those uh i would open for a motion and a second to approve this we've got a motion at second all right all in favor aye opposed minutes are approved welcome this morning glad to have you here
if you will state your names for the record just punch you your button there and identify yourself And we'll begin. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I'm
Speaker 9
11:01
Corey Alderdice, Director of ASMSA. I'm Don Bobbitt, President, University
Speaker 11
11:06
of Arkansas System. Melissa Rust, University of Arkansas
Speaker 14
11:12
System. And again, thank you for being here.
We will open now for any comments you have, or I believe we've got a short presentation. we would turn it over to you
Speaker 18
11:30
for that. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Appreciate the opportunity to provide some
Speaker 20
11:34
contextual remarks about ASMSA, our students, and its mission. I think the most important thing to note, especially in the context of today's conversation, is that the school's mission is more than just the 230 students who benefit from the residential experience. Each year, thousands of students and teachers across the state benefit from our expanded out-of-school enrichment programs,
programs, which are offered at no cost, our educator development programs, which are building capacity in classrooms across the state, as well as distance learning initiatives that bridge opportunity gaps in small and rural districts. But to the point of the residential program, we are quite thrilled that this program is a representative of what education can be, and it's a national standard for excellence in STEM education. Over the past several years, ASMSA has been recognized by Newsweek, The Washington Post, and the Daily Beast among the nation's top public high schools, and by Jay Matthews,
who's an educational researcher among the nation's top 30 public elite high schools. The quality of our STEM, science, technology, engineering, and mathematics programs have been acknowledged by a variety of groups, including Code.org, which named us an inaugural champion of computer science. Study.com is one of the nation's top 30 STEM programs, as well as the National Consortium of secondary STEM schools for our student innovation programs. One thing in particular I want to highlight, especially as part
of that expanded mission, is that ASMSA has been a central figure in the governor's computer science initiative. In particular, the school accounted previously for 20% of all statewide computer science education, both through the residential program and our outreach initiatives. In addition to that, the school has trained 25%, one in four of all licensed computer science teachers statewide through our year-long training cohort, and we provided some form of professional development for 40% of all CS teachers in the state.
We have willingly and excitedly embraced the governor's vision for this topic, and we've been happy to share our capacity and support for that mission. Last year, we opened the Creativity and Innovation Complex, the first new academic facility in the school's history. In order to do so, we had to overcome several logistical challenges. Again, we don't have a local millage. The school does not have access to the public facilities school fund, and because our legislation notes that we don't charge for housing, tuition, or meals,
it limits our bonding revenue streams. But through a little saving, some support from the governor, as well as some private fundraising, we were able to construct this $4.7 million classroom facility with zero debt. As we complete that project, now, we turn our attention to renovating two existing facilities on campus, the former chapel and convent that were part of the St. Joseph's Hospital complex. This $3.5 million dollar project, which we've put together the funding for, will allow us to increase enrollment
by 24 students, so about 10 percent enrollment growth in the near future. As for the residential experience, we think of it as a college bridge. It's a combination of high school and college, and that comes through a lot of ways. It's the rigor, the academic opportunities, research experiences, and study abroad that are part of a university experience, but the supervision, support, and structure of high school. I think our demographics of our students are very telling, and it's one of the ways that ASMSA distinguishes itself relative to the 15 other schools in the country.
We're geographically diverse. Over the past five years, students from 69 of the state's 75 counties have attended the program. Racially diverse, 35% of students identify as a minority or under-represented group. But the final one is especially important. One third of our students come from low-income backgrounds, qualify for free and reduced lunch. That's double our peer institutions nationwide, and it is the highest number of our institutions nationwide. Academics, we have an incredible group of faculty who deliver a dynamic array of course
opportunities through our partnership with UA Fort Smith. We're able to offer 60 different courses for university credit. Every ASMSA student finishes high school with at least 30 hours of college credit, and actually our graduates average a little more than 50 hours or more than three semesters by the time they finish high school. Another area that we've put special emphasis on in recent years has been entrepreneurship. We believe that one of the reasons our school exists is part of the state's economic development strategy and at the intersection of science and technology and creativity within the arts
is entrepreneurship. We found over time that several of our alumni are building successful businesses both in Arkansas and nationwide, and we want to encourage that spirit from the time that they're in high school. Most importantly though, I think it's interesting, students, families save about $14,000 in college tuition thanks to our program. Certainly that helps to reduce the cost of a educational degree and at the same time too it does help to encourage many of them to remain in Arkansas to continue their studies
thanks to the transfer of that credit. Last year's graduates earned a little more than 13 million in college scholarships and I think it's important to note that a little more than 60% of alumni are both living and continuing their education in Arkansas. One of my favorite statistics is that one in five ASMSA alumni have a doctoral degree, a JD, an MD, or other form of terminal degree. So they are continuing their education and attaining levels of specialization that contribute to their communities statewide. So again, it's not just a
single experience. It's a variety of opportunities both on campus and beyond that we're quite fortunate to offer thanks to the investment by the General Assembly. And finally, we re-articulated our commitment to students about the value that this presents for all Arkansans who seek to take advantage of this opportunity. For applicants, we provide them with a chance to take the ACT during their sophomore year at no expense. That's the only cost associated with applying to the school. That opportunity to earn 30 hours of college credit and save thousands of dollars in tuition,
the actual residential experience itself, which comes with no cost for housing, tuition, or meals or textbooks, the opportunity to explore the world through our global learning program as well as, and this one I think is especially important, college planning, coaching and counseling that positions these students to find success at the university level and obtain scholarships and fellowships at some of the nation's most prestigious high schools. So it's a package of opportunities, again, that we are humbled and honored to offer and that ultimately we believe presents significant value to the state of Arkansas and its citizens.
With that said, we'll be happy to answer
Speaker 29
18:25
any questions, Mr. Chairman. Thank you. And Dr. Bobbitt or Ms. Russ,
Speaker 11
18:36
do you have an opening? I guess I would
Speaker 33
18:39
simply add to this presentation that the school is a wonderful contributor to the University of Arkansas system, and we consider it to be a very valuable part. The students who graduate from there, we have made tremendous inroads over the past couple years
and making sure that they stay in Arkansas. And so our institutions, UA, Fort Smith, but also Fayetteville, Little Rock, have done a very good job in attracting the students because we believe if they're educated here, they will stay here and will get a return on our investment. We also appreciate the fact that there have been definitely identified areas where we could improve. And I want to thank the director, Corey, and the others of his administration for the hard work that they've done to take these significant issues to heart
and to work diligently, as Representative Gassaway said, to address them. And we think that it's led to an improved institution for all. Thank you, Ms. Russ. No additional comments.
Speaker 14
19:39
Mr. Chairman, thank you. Any other comments
Speaker 38
19:44
for you, members? okay members seat 25 i
believe is representative smith you are recognized thank you mr chair
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
19:58
i tend to be more of a qualitative methodology researcher from my background but and so i i like the personal side of qualitative research more than maybe quantitative but so my questions are going to be more substantial in that they're open-ended questions and I'd like a response
but this one is for Director Alderdice how would you describe your leadership style given the fact that so many parents and former staff have identified your leadership style as bullying, that you used intimidation, manipulation, threats, and you violated some of the school policies when it came to the kids,
and even one allegation that I received said that you misused some grant funds for another program and your response and this is just what I heard from them your response was well I haven't been caught yet and so would you please describe your leadership style because some of these other folks have a different perspective, and I'd appreciate just a self-definition.
Speaker 20
21:35
Sure. Well, let's tackle first your most significant claim, which is the misappropriation of funds. I thoroughly and soundly reject that claim. I've acted with, you know, ethics. I've acted in appropriate behaviors and in accordance with any grants that we have requested from state or other sources, plain and simple on that. As for the other claims that you levy, I believe that these are explored quite in depth through the external review that was requested by my part and conducted by the University of
Arkansas system. And that those claims have been unfounded, particularly those of bullying, harassment and intimidation. As for my personal leadership style, I would say this, I have incredibly high expectations for our institution. Again this is a special investment by the General Assembly in the potential of these young people. We must strive for excellence, we must be focused on progress, and we each as part of that campus have a significant share of the responsibility in moving campus forward.
We cannot settle for acceptable, we cannot settle for just okay, we must always strive for excellence. And so in the way that I work with faculty and staff to do that is by identifying the resources they need to accomplish their goals, seeking both internal and external resources to achieve those ends and doing everything within my power to mean that they have the support necessary to move our institution forward and support our students at every turn. Follow-up, Mr. Chair?
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
23:06
Go ahead. So, based on your response, everybody else is wrong and you're right. Is that what you're saying? I
Speaker 20
23:16
don't think that's the intent at all. Again, one of the challenges of leadership is that not everyone will agree with your decisions, not everyone will agree with your positions, and at times there will be differences of opinion on it. I would say that though the individuals that hold those positions are limited,
and at times those are the individuals that need to be challenged to improve their own
Speaker 55
23:50
actions and move forward. Thank you. Seat. 18 representative
Speaker 57
23:56
Lowry. Thank you Mr. Chair. Mr. Alderdice I'll just I've got a number of questions and I hope that the chair will allow me those several questions and if not then I'll go back into the queue. You just stated in
in reference to Representative Smith, that the challenge of you intimidating faculty and students is false. But I remember in reading the review, the external review, that faculty members did feel that they are intimidated by your style. So is the reviewer incorrect? I do not believe that's
Speaker 57
24:44
Well, I was just looking for the specific page number, and I'll find it. But I know that there was a reference to faculty members feeling intimidated. I also have testimony that I will ask be entered into the record at some point from a former faculty member or administration member there that said that faculty members are intimidated, and that's why we're not getting more forthcoming information about concerns at the school. Let me just turn to some of the other questions that I
have. I'm just going to, and anybody can answer this, including Dr. Bobbitt, President Bobbitt, if you wish. I really question the veracity of the report itself, and I know that seems unusual in light of me referencing something that was in the report, but the first thing that I would question i'm looking at page 23 where it's revering to the privilege walk and for members who have not been involved in some of these private meetings that we've had let me let me
give a little bit of a description of the privilege walk it was an activity that incoming students were subjected to where they were lined up and questions were asked or situations were analyzed where I said if you if you have two parents step forward if you only have one parent step backward if you own a car step forward and what was it was intended to point out after the subjection of these 16 17 year olds to
these questions was that that white privilege exists and that it really a A number of students were embarrassed by it. They felt like it did the opposite of what any kind of an orientation session should do, which is to bring these diverse populations together and instead divided, and that is actually pointed out in the report that there were minority students that came to the dean and expressed their concern
that this had pointed out their lack of privilege even at the school. But the issue of veracity comes in here, where page 23, the report says, no student or parent complained that the exercise was an expression of classism or bullying to the dean or director or anyone else that I have been able to determine until the board meeting. And that was the board meeting, I believe, of April.
I know for a fact in talking to, of course, by the time I'm presenting it, it's secondhand. but i've spoken to parents and on behalf of their student and both the student and the parents objected directly to you or to dean morris excuse me and no action was taken now let me let me just say in all fairness dr bobbitt has reported to us in our private meetings that the privilege walk has been suspended it is no longer being used and i appreciate that especially in light
of the fact that the report did not really indicate, I mean, it basically said, oh, there's no concern, there's no issue here. So I really have to call into question the veracity of the external review. So my question here would be for President Bobbitt. Can you give us background on who actually did the external review, and how did you come to know of this person to be the best avenue for
Speaker 11
28:22
doing this research? The individual is a retired attorney who has
Speaker 33
28:26
a great number of years doing these types
of investigations, both in her private practice and after she's retired. She was very thorough. At one point in time, she wanted to talk to faculty, which was a recommendation that had been made by you and others, and to students. There were events being held over the summer at the school, and she determined that that was not really a representative sample of all the students because these were student leaders. So I think within the constraints of what she was asked to do, I guess I would
disagree with your opinion of the report. I think it was extremely thorough. She talked to a large number of people. Did she talk to everyone? That is just frankly impossible. But she did a very, very thorough job in her analysis of the situation. She did find many areas representative larry where we can improve and for that purpose the report was very helpful to us and director alder dice and i have had a series of conversations in-depth conversations from that report and have worked through a series of i would say actions that have resulted from it
and i think as i said in my opening comments you'll see that the experience for our students this fall is going to be different and improved over what has been
Speaker 64
29:49
experienced in the past well thank you and i uh i
Speaker 57
29:52
would like to say and i meant to say this at the very beginning that i do appreciate uh you meeting with us several times as well as miss rust and uh and then the second meeting that we had a meeting with um i'm losing track of if whether there was three meetings or two meetings but the very fact i can't remember whether it's two or three shows your level of
cooperation and i do appreciate that and i know director alder dice also met with us and and answered our our questions um and i we all felt after afterwards uh that representative gasaway chairman gasaway's point was well taken that we we certainly need to operate in the light and in any of those discussions uh it's only fair to our other colleagues and to the public at large that we put on the record uh many of these discussions um at this point mr chairman if there's any others
uh waiting i will go ahead and put myself
Speaker 66
30:49
in the queue with your permission and i have
several other questions thank thank you for that uh just for personal reference another committee that is is not as
familiar with the setting down there is there a board of trustees for this school or some type
Speaker 69
31:11
oversight for the school itself senator rice as in
Speaker 11
31:15
as is true for all of the
university of arkansas uh institutions and affiliated units
Speaker 33
31:21
the board of trustees the the University of Arkansas system is the Board of Trustees for every unit. And the board has discussed Mr. Alderdice's performance in executive session as a personnel issue and has been asking me for updates in executive session going forward. So I guess I would leave you with the thought that they are engaged and interested in the issues that have been brought forward.
Okay, and thank you for that. But is there
Speaker 70
31:53
any type of committee or anything locally at the school? I see
Speaker 33
31:59
what you're saying. There is a board of visitors that provides feedback to Mr. Alderdice and
his team. Thank you. We're going to seat 83 at his Center Hammer.
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
32:13
Thank you, Mr. Chair. Regarding the matters of the fiscal responsibility of the institution, Are you guys under legislative audit purview, or how are you guys audited?
Speaker 78
32:26
Yes, the school is audited on an annual basis by legislative audit. And, again, I do believe
Speaker 20
32:33
that there was a special audit requested by a member at the May meeting to investigate some of
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
32:39
these claims that have been presented. And that audit report has not come out yet? Not to my knowledge, sir. Okay. And then secondly, regarding matters that involve potential criminal charges, sexual assault, things like that, are all those matters referred to outside law enforcement agencies or are they handled internally by the university?
Speaker 78
32:59
Any case of which that there is substantial cause or belief,
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
33:04
those are referred to law enforcement. Who determines essential cause or belief? Employees as mandatory reporters. okay and are there any ongoing investigations right now by outside law enforcement agencies into any accusations of activities at the campus there are not okay thank you
thank you mr. chair thank you senator hammer and i do not have any on
the board yeah i do excuse me
Seek 25, Representative Smith.
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
33:36
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I'd like to direct this question to Dr. Bobbitt. We had talked about the parents of the students at ASMSA standing up to voice their concerns and share their challenges or difficulties, and you referred to these parents in a meeting as being unsophisticated,
and I'm just wondering if you could explain why you chose that term for JPR. Sure. I do not, I'll be honest with
Speaker 11
34:16
you, Representative Smith, remember using that particular term, but I'll take your word for it.
Speaker 33
34:21
I think what I was trying to convey, obviously unsuccessfully, is that when this information comes to you or even comes to me, it's coming in a best case second or third hand. And it's being filtered through the eyes of individuals who do not have the complete understanding.
They see perhaps what happened to the student next to them without understanding all the background that went into it. And they make assumptions about the situation and present that to their parents as fact. And I think what I probably meant to convey was that they're unknowledgeable of the detail of the situation. And when it comes up to me, we do not push anything under the rug. We investigate it. But in many circumstances, what we find out is information that we have at our disposal, which we cannot release to a parent except for the parent of the child who's affected by the action,
that we understand the reason why things are the way they are. Okay.
Speaker 84
35:28
All right. Follow-up, please. This one goes back to Director Alder Dice.
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
35:34
I've had a lot of people that you've rubbed the wrong way come to me and talk, and you've given good responses about your leadership, and I appreciate that. But why should you remain in the director's role at ASMSA?
Speaker 20
35:51
I think that's an excellent question, Representative. Over the eight years that I've had the opportunity to serve in this position, and again, I serve at the pleasure of the president and the board of trustees. In those eight years, I think that there are a few metrics that we can't argue that we have seen significant progress as an institution. Upon my arrival, the average exiting ACT score for students was 26.8. last year's class was 30.1 our current seniors who still have a bit of testing to do already at 29.9 the attrition rate was 38 percent for students students
who would start who did not finish the program experience and that's been reduced to 13 percent an all-time record low and in line with our peer institutions in other states the number of students that are receiving college scholarships external support national recognition for the program private fundraising dollars, all of those numbers are significantly forward of where we were. On a more personal level, though, we focused on student success. That students, that when we make a commitment as an institution that these students are selected to be here, that they have every avenue
to study the things that they're interested in, to participate in a dynamic and appropriate residential community, and most of all, to find support in as many forms on that. And
Speaker 44
37:10
that has been what we've achieved. Thank you, and one
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
37:15
last follow-up, please. I've had people come to me and say, ASMSA ought to be removed from the University of Arkansas system and placed under ADE, since they deal more with K through 12, dealing with the, I think you have 10th grade,
11th, and 12th now, even though the 10th grade class may be represented only by, like, five or six students, but, and that you should be replaced, okay? Just in fairness to you, that's what I've been hearing, and I'm just wondering, I don't know if Dr. Johnny Key would want ASMSA under his umbrella of responsibility, but if that were to happen, if, let's say
in the next year there are still problems that we've addressed here, but they've not had remedy, and we still are seeing a lot of conflict and allegations of problematic areas is that an appropriate response to dealing with some of these issues and this open for anyone that
Speaker 65
38:42
really is a is a issue that the state would have to
Speaker 33
38:47
decide I would I would remind this body that there are 230 students there with potential for as many as 460 parents and that I understand that each of you have are under tremendous pressure from the individuals who live in your districts however I would also tell you that we have a number of parents whose children have gone through and are continued to be resident at you ASMSA and they see the potential that has been unlocked in their child and are extremely
appreciative of it this is a stressful environment I will I will admit that to you may be more stressful than even our most competitive institutions of higher education in the state and I think what you've heard from doctor from director Alderdice and you can see in the record is that these students are excelling they're doing exactly what we said and that the problems I think that mostly been brought up sir in our conversations have been with the difficulty of trying to correctly manage
in a residential setting 16 and 17 year olds which is a challenge for anyone particularly for a for a school that's not located on a college campus we have been taking the steps to provide backup for director alder dice and his staff we have been working more closely to align the staff at ASMSA with the residential programs at our institutions so that when these problems arise, we have individuals who can provide advice, can provide backup, can provide knowledge to
assist them. I will also tell you that, you know, when I came eight years ago, ASMS at the time, the A was not there, was perhaps maybe the third or fourth best high school in the state of Arkansas. My job in looking for a director for this institution was that it needs to be because the investment that you all have made in this institution, that the Hot Springs community has made in this institution, it needs to be the best high school in the state of Arkansas academically.
And so I went and found someone in Director Alderdice who comes from one of the best schools in the country like this. And he has put into place programs that are different than what were in place when he came. but I think the proof is in the success not only the reputation of the school which helps Arkansas but in the success of the students as they go forward
Speaker 87
41:21
from ASMSA. Thank you. If I may also representative in the context of your question about the position
Speaker 78
41:26
of the school within higher education again
Speaker 20
41:29
there are 15 schools like this in the country and all but two of them are
either adjacent or on a university campus excuse me three ourselves included on that those three outliers in particular are arkansas illinois and north carolina the illinois math science academy is an independent higher ed agency
Speaker 78
41:46
so it's not aligned with the university but it functions under the governance of higher ed and the north
Speaker 20
41:53
carolina school of science and math is a campus of the unc system as we are so the dna of all of these institutions is that
Speaker 78
42:01
they are hybrids of course they serve high school students they serve a secondary
Speaker 20
42:07
education population and deliver a high school program of study but at the same time too their operations and governance across the board align more with higher ed so we're not an outlier in that regard thank you
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
42:26
chairman guess what thank you mr chairman uh first let me say to dr bobbitt Director Alder Dyson, Ms. Rush, thank you for being here today. For purposes of just letting the committee know,
we have had at least two closed-door meetings prior to today with the individuals who are here today and several legislators who had constituents who had issues. And really part of the purpose of calling this meeting was to address the issues in public that had been raised for the administration of the School of Math and Sciences, and those that were contained in the executive summary of the independent evaluation.
I think that's probably a good place to start because many of the committee members here aren't familiar with all of the issues that were raised. And so because I think today is about transparency and about putting on the record what the issues were and what action has been taken, could whoever is most comfortable, Ms. Rust maybe, could you go through the independent evaluation and address the issues one by one? And just as I look at it, there were issues,
A, alleged sexual assault, B, unreported drug-related activity, C, preferential treatment of certain students, D. Racism, classism, bullying, and mistreatment by residential life staff. E. Required participation in the activity known as a privilege walk. We've already heard some of these issues addressed in questions, but I think it would be helpful if we go through these one by one, talk about what the issue raised was, and talk about what action has been taken. But let me continue.
Lack of communication between parents and administration. Enforcement of rules not in handbooks. attempt to start a young republicans club denied fear of retaliation towards faculty and students from administration a lack of transparency from school administration concerns about residential life a March 9 2019 drug incident issues regarding contact with parents professional development
programs and issues pertaining to director alder dice's leadership and i think these were the the number of issues that were raised and that were the subject of the independent evaluation and so what i think would be helpful for this committee is if you went through those one by one discussed what the issue was and discussed what you've done to address it thank you
Speaker 14
45:16
I think I got all of those down, Representative Gazeway, and I'll be happy to try to address some of them, and then I think there may be others that may be more appropriate for Dr. Bob and Ann Dork, excuse me, Director Alderdice to address specifically. With respect to the privilege wonk, since we've already been talking about that some, after that issue was brought to the attention of administration and the external evaluation was conducted in consultation with ASMSA officials as well as system officials, the decision was
made that the privilege walk would no longer be utilized. And so that is not, has not been utilized since that issue was raised, brought to administration's attention, and will not be raised in the future. And I think that is what we shared with the group of members that we met with on two occasions. With respect to the Young Republicans Club, there was, as I understand, and Director Alderdice, I hope you will correct me if I get any of this wrong,
but it's my understanding that there's a process at ASMSA by which you complete a form requesting that a student organization or a student club be established. And in addition to doing that, you also come forward with an individual that's employed at the school that would agree to serve as a sponsor for that particular organization. It's my understanding that there was a faculty member who was asked if he would be willing to serve but because of his responsibilities other responsibilities
at the campus was not able to do so and ultimately I don't believe the form was actually completed or a sponsor ever secured and so that club was not established. Now certainly if the students came forward and completed the requirements in completing the form and had a sponsor then that club would exist as any other club that exists on the campus. And in the
Speaker 20
47:27
time since this fall during usual organizing activities students have established the club in
Speaker 14
47:32
accordance with procedures. You raised an issue, and I think it's been referred to a bit earlier as well, of an allegation of sexual assault on the campus. At the Board of Visitors meeting in May, I believe it was, there was an allegation brought forward by a student, a current student, that he had been subjected to a form of sexual assault.
The institution immediately investigated that particular allegation, determined that, in fact, there was not an act of sexual assault that occurred. The external evaluation also reviewed that particular matter, the evaluator did, and agreed with the conclusion that had been reached at the campus in consultation with legal advice from our general counsel's office.
And I'm happy to answer any questions about that, or our director could as well, but that's what I would say, you know, with respect to that particular issue. Okay. I am not aware, and I don't think the report confirmed an allegation of drug-related activity that was just, you know, just unwarranted, if you will, or ongoing drug-related activity. There was no confirmation of that information based upon the external evaluation, and there
was also, to my knowledge, no confirmation of the allegation of enforcement of rules that were outside of the student handbook. I think I'm going to see if our director would like to make any comments about any of the others
because I think he probably has more information with respect to the other issues that you raised. Sure,
Speaker 87
49:53
I think perhaps the best way to answer it is to respond broadly on the claims. I think the report clearly
Speaker 78
50:02
notes that the majority of the issues presented by this limited number of
Speaker 20
50:07
individuals at the May 2019 Board of Visitors meeting were based on either incomplete or incorrect assumptions. I believe Dr. Bobitz mirrored that statement earlier.
Speaker 78
50:16
Each of the individuals who had brought these claims forward at that meeting, we had engaged with them as parents on repeated occasions and made numerous good faith efforts
Speaker 20
50:27
to respond to the concerns that they presented at the time, the majority of which were inaccurate or incorrect. And so at the end of the day, I believe that's broadly what the report bears out, is that a limited number of individuals made these claims, which ultimately were inaccurate or at least incomplete in a way.
Now to also mirror Dr. Bobbitt's comments from earlier, there is always room for an improvement. As an institution that is committed to excellence, it behooves us all, myself especially, to be diligent in pursuing that. And as Dr. Bobbitt noted earlier, the recommendations from the report relative to myself individually and to Res Life and to our parental engagement, we have taken those to heart and we've developed proactive steps on each of those points.
Speaker 11
51:17
I would like to remind this body of the complexities
Speaker 33
51:22
that this institution faces compared to many. The residential component is a very difficult but important part of the experience that these students have at ASMSA. And like all 16- and 17-year-olds, there are some within the group who test the limits of authority and test the limits of what's legal, et cetera.
And there has been instances, Representative Gassaway, of drug usage that has been identified as the institution. I think the report and subsequent conversations with law enforcement individuals say it's not an epidemic. But like all high schools, there are individuals, again, who want to test limits. The problem or the challenge that they face at ASMSA that's different is that at 3 o'clock in the afternoon at a high school, if someone's suspended or engages in proper activity, they go home and they become the problem of the home or the problem of the community.
And when these individuals engage in this activity at ASMSA, they're the responsibility of the institution 24 hours a day, seven days a week in many circumstances. As a consequence of the report, one thing was identified, and there was a practice in place in which an individual who was effectively found to be in violation, a significant violation of the rules, could be given what was called a community withdrawal. They had to have been within striking distance of graduation, of completing all their requirements,
And they did receive an ASMSA diploma for their efforts. I asked a number of individuals at the school why this proposal or why this policy was put into place because it didn't make a lot of sense to me. And in effect, the individuals at ASMSA told me that they believed that they were carrying out the wishes of the legislature in which a law has been passed in which individuals who are forced out of one of our existing high schools can continue to take courses
online, and if they complete all their requirements, obtain a high school degree, and they thought that this community withdrawal was in line with the legislative intent in that law. We, though, no longer have been using that, and if individuals step out of line and are deemed to have been a significant violation of ASMSA rules, they will be dismissed from the institution and sent to complete their studies in their home community.
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
54:05
Thank you, Dr. Bobbitt. So just to follow up, in the executive summary and in the report itself, there were conclusions and suggestions. And my understanding is that the administration has taken action to address some of the issues that were raised. And so, I mean, to me, which is an admission, at least in part, that there were some issues that were legitimate that needed to be addressed.
And so my understanding is that you guys have taken action to do that. And so I guess I would address this to you, Dr. Bobbitt. Will you explain to the committee what the school is doing, what the administration
Speaker 33
54:51
is doing, to address issues that were found to be legitimate. Absolutely. So first of all, one thing is that the structure of the school was such that the director had been the outward facing voice of the institution. And Director Alderdice had been very involved in fundraising
and in planning along those lines, allowing each of his deans, one in the residential side, one on the academic side to basically take on those responsibilities. We found that when one of those deans were gone, there could be a breakdown in communication and the idea that the director simply focused on one aspect of the school and not all aspects of the school was not workable. And so that has been changed. And Director Alderdice has been meeting, he met with the faculty earlier this semester, has regular scheduled meetings with faculty leadership groups he meets with me regularly he attends the meetings of the
two and four-year chancellor so he has a support base in place that he can seek information and or backup and they have made sure he has made sure that his presence in the residence halls after the normal academic day has been noted and that is because he wants the residence life managers to understand that if there is an issue he is among the first people that need to be called not the last and i think that was one of the significant issues that was brought forward
okay i've got four in the queue center sample
Senator Bill Sample
Unverified
56:24
first then center stubblefield thank you mine is just to answer a couple of questions representative smith asked about uh asmsa being under ade we tried that it didn't work uh a uh ade takes care of of k through 12. they don't have they don't have any
dealings with a residential school asmsa is is more like a college because of the fact that that they deal with residential. And to Co-Chair Gasway's question about the sexual allegations, when I heard that at first, I went straight to the police.
And the police's answer to me was, Senator, we did all we could. And when you're dealing with a minor, the parents have to be asked if they can interview the minor. And that phone call was made, and that parent chose not to allow an interview to happen. And so those are
Speaker 109
57:46
the answers to those questions. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
57:53
Thank you, Sister Stubbleville. We've got seat 81. Hit your button again. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. This question has nothing to do with the behavioral issues we've been speaking about today. I do remember you saying, Mr. Aldenise, that you appreciated or you expected high expectations of your students.
And I appreciate that because I think that's something we lack in our education today. ASMSA was formed in 1993, correct? Yes, it opened up. How much of an impact does ASMSA have on the overall math and science scores across the
Speaker 87
58:55
state of Arkansas? I would say with only 230 students and dozens of thousands of other students that, mathematically, that impact would be negligible.
Speaker 91
59:05
Minimal? Negligible, yes. Again, 230 versus thousands. So you would
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
59:10
have very little impact as far as where Arkansas ranks in the country mathematically and in science? I believe so, yes. Okay. Let me ask you a question. We, back in, do you remember where the United States ranked in literacy in 1962? I'm not personally familiar with the data.
We rank number one. You know where we rank now? 65th you know what changed in that time we're talking about you know a change in our educational system teachers went from teaching kids to learn to teaching kids to think to teaching kids to learn you know what the difference in that is I do not when you teach a child to think
You give them unlimited abilities. When you teach a child to learn, you're really giving them, all you're doing is teaching them to memorize facts and regurgitate those facts and put them down on a piece of paper as a true and false or a multiple-choice test. Do you understand the difference in that?
Speaker 87
1:00:28
I do, and I think that's at the heart of the experience that
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
1:00:32
we offer these young people. Which one of these two educational philosophies do you think is the
Speaker 20
1:00:38
most appropriate for our students? I think an inquiry-based approach is appropriate, which gets to the ends of encouraging students
to think critically, to assess, and to report, rather than simply to, as you say, regurgitate. Every single ASMSA student completes a research project, and that project begins upon arrival at
Speaker 78
1:00:55
the school in their junior year. They spend the next 18 months working through that independent research project. It's supported and guided with a faculty member, but at the end of the day, it's a lift that they're carrying. Much of it is what we call just-in-time knowledge. A great example of that is our research in the park program,
which on Friday was recognized by the National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools as its Innovative Partnership Prize winner. Students identifying need in Hot Springs National Park, things that have been determined by the park superintendent and the Department of the Interior as critical gaps in their own research base and coverage they go out they collect the data they analyze the data and they report back and that's information that's not just helpful to the National Park Service that's information that's essential due to a lack of staffing and with particular
Speaker 20
1:01:48
programs focusing on quality of water I don't think you can argue that there's anything more important than the quality of water in Hot Springs National Park and that's just
Speaker 78
1:01:57
one of a dozen different type of research model programs that students are able to engage in. So yes, there are, you know, traditional assessments, there's tests, there are things like the ACT, but I would argue the thing that is both unique and essential in this experience
Speaker 24
1:02:13
is that students have those opportunities for inquiry, which is not always a defined outcome. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Speaker 124
1:02:25
Representative Lauer. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to go back to a number of issues that have already have been addressed. One, namely
Speaker 57
1:02:47
in the opening, Director Alderdice, where you referenced all of the benefits that students accrue through ASMSA, and your testimony was that these are all paid for,
concurrent enrollment fees the ACT but but I have information that says that actually the families pay $250 per semester in fees for concurrent enrollment they also Arkansas state law is now that every junior gets to take the ACT for free so why the discrepancy in the presentation that you made and what the actual
Speaker 20
1:03:31
slide that that is in front of you it notes that there is no cost for housing meals in
Speaker 124
1:03:37
textbooks I didn't ask about that I asked about the two that you mentioned
Speaker 20
1:03:41
concurrent enrollment in the ACT sure so again I this was the statement that I made based on the slide you are correct that with the concurrent credit program there is a $250 per semester assessment I made no claim otherwise regarding concurrent credit. And then there are $350 in residential assessments per year. That's things like parents association dues,
yearbook, that's all you can do with laundry, no need to have quarters. With the exception of the laundry, these are expenses that would likely be inherent no matter where they were attending. For students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, we underwrite 100% of those costs. So in the terms of the value positioning statement about saving fourteen thousand dollars in concurrent credit that certainly is relative to the nominal investment that parents have to make okay but you would
Speaker 124
1:04:28
agree that these are programs that are afforded to
Speaker 127
1:04:33
students whether they're at ASMSA or not the opportunity
Speaker 20
1:04:39
to take the ACT at no cost during their sophomore year is unique to us our students and as you know students statewide do participate and now the
Speaker 127
1:04:50
Okay. But the concurrent enrollment is available to students at our K-12 secondary schools as well
Speaker 20
1:04:56
as ASMSA. In a variety of capacities, but I can offer with certainty that there is no institution that offers both the depth and breadth of coursework available
to these young people. By comparison's sake, your larger suburban school districts, I would say Little Rock, Benton, Bryant, areas of which you're familiar with, despite a significantly larger population of students. Our school students pursue about five times as much concurrent credit on an annual basis. Okay.
Speaker 57
1:05:25
I'm going to refer back to a question that I asked earlier and the one reason I could not find in searching the document that of the external
review could not find the reference to the word intimidation or intimidate or intimidates is because the word actually is retaliation and there have been there were questions about there were allegations made at the May meeting before the Board of Visitors of retaliation and it's at this point that I'm going to ask the chair to enter into the record a letter from Miss Valerie Carpenter who is the former director of recruiting for the school where she has indicated that once
she's feels like she's experienced retaliation but that also a number of faculty members that she knows has also they also fear retaliation mainly because the grievance policy there is no grievance policy at ASMSA other than that the grievance goes to the director where he is the judge the prosecutor in and the jury so with with consent I would like to enter this letter into the record? If
Speaker 20
1:06:44
I may respond, Mr. Chairman. There is a documented grievance policy in our employee.
I'm sorry, can we act on my request first? Representative Larry, that will be part of the minutes, yes. Thank you.
Speaker 20
1:06:57
Go ahead. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This employee handbook notes that there is a clear grievance policy on campus. At the end of the day, it escalates through its various levels, And you are correct, at the end of the process, if it has been appealed to my position, the director does weigh in on the matter. In the cases of which there is a grievance against the director, him or herself, then the system itself educates those claims.
Speaker 57
1:07:24
So to say otherwise is incorrect. Okay. I'm sorry, I've got several other questions, if you may. You know, I'm really, I don't know if anyone else is, but I'm really tiring of being told, each of us on our questions, that concerns, allegations, whatever that have been made by the community at large, parents, students, are incorrect, that they're factually inaccurate or that they have found to be whatever the terminology is.
obviously some of the concerns that were raised were found to be truthful to be viable or we would not have President Bobbitt here telling us that recommendations have been made that changes are going to take place and that they are taking place and so I would just ask that you stop referring to inaccuracies and recognize that there are sometimes differences in perceptions and that these are parents that are concerned about their minor children.
So in all due respect, I ask that you would respect my constituents. Frankly, I was surprised to find out that in my small area of Maumelle and with your small population that I had five students out of 230. I mean, certainly disproportionate, and I'm really proud that they were able to participate. But that's what's engaged me, and I know these parents, parents of these children now, and they are honest and they are sincere in their concerns.
And I think to completely slap away every one of these things as inaccurate or hyperbolic or whatever the terminology would be that would be used is really disrespectful, and it's disrespectful to us because I happen to know that some of these allegations are truthful. And, Mr. Chairman, I assume that you have others in the queue because I do have several other questions I want to ask about other testimony that's already been made. Yes, sir. We're
going to go to another one.
It's been addressed that this privilege walk has been done away with, but it did sound very concerning. Who ordered or authorized the
Speaker 30
1:09:57
privilege vote? The activity was developed by the Residence Life Staff. The
Speaker 20
1:10:03
Residence Life Staff? By members of the Residence Life Staff. But in terms of final authorization, I can speak to that.
You can't speak to the final authorization? Which is to say I don't recall if anyone. So no one requested to me that this activity take place. It was implemented as part of an incoming student program. You did not have foreknowledge of that. I did not. And the first concern that was raised to me about the activity itself was at the May Board
of Visitors meeting. Okay, thank you. Going to seat 88, I believe, is Senator Clark.
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:10:44
Thank you, Mr. Chair. i have never said anything publicly and really didn't intend to
today the first of all let me be complimentary uh scholastically uh i'd give you an a and i think a well-deserved day and i think at a school like that uh like asmsa that's extremely important as a former youth pastor when it comes to handling some of the situations with kids that
have we have not brought up here today i'd give you a d and so i have problems on the reasons i'm speaking up with the constantly we've said we have room for improvement should that
room for improvement not be described as serious errors
Speaker 11
1:11:49
Well, Senator Clark, let me address that.
Speaker 33
1:11:53
I don't want to discount the reports that were brought forward. I want to remind everyone that our job here, my job, that is my job here, is to take these seriously and to investigate and look at the basis for it. In many circumstances, there's an incomplete knowledge base that leads one to a conclusion that's not correct. In the act of us doing the investigation, we have found that there were serious questions about the chain of command in terms of how information flow needed to go.
There were decisions, for example, the Privilege Walk being made at a level that was probably not appropriate, not probably, was not appropriate for the education of 16- and 17-year-olds. And in every circumstance, we have taken these seriously and have moved forward with trying to create an environment going forward that addresses them. I believe the last time, for example, the Privilege Walk was an issue was fall of 2018, August of 2018. So we're talking about something that was, right now, we're talking about something that was a year and a half ago.
And in many of these things that have been brought up, as they were brought to our attention, we have dealt with them. And I would ask Corey to maybe comment for a second on the number of disciplinary actions that have been registered so far this year when we've clarified some of these points that you
Speaker 87
1:13:22
and others have brought to us. Sure. Again, the number of incidents that we
Speaker 20
1:13:27
have seen this year have only been in usual course of business as a school.
And we're talking basic things like tardies, being late to class on it. I do believe that the issues we experienced, the incidents we experienced last year as an institution, were isolated. That means that they were no less troubling, no
Speaker 24
1:13:47
less frustrating on our part. And in reality, young people will disappoint us on occasion.
Speaker 20
1:13:53
They will make decisions and pursue actions that are counter to either their individual or the institutional interest. And in those cases, I believe that we acted accordingly.
As for the level of improvement, Senator, that you believe that we need, again, I believe that the report bears out that the most grave and disconcerting statements are not entirely accurate. But that does not mean that we have not taken them seriously. That does not mean that the system hasn't taken them seriously. And we have looked for the areas in which we can intentionally improve our actions.
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:14:35
I'm not so interested in the ones that are not entirely accurate. I'm interested in the ones that are accurate, and whether they be in the report or they're not in the report. The, I think the reason, my opinion, that the privilege walk wasn't, was done, it wasn't a big deal. You know, if we send our kids to the U of A,
There will be a philosophical bent, or
UCA for that matter, and most other schools of higher learning, a decided philosophical bent that's different from
my thinking. And I will be told, if I say anything about
it, that these are adults and that the folks that are
teaching them have the freedom to do what they want to do what I see behind the scenes
is the same bent only these are not college kids these are high school kids and I'm careful when I'm in a situation that ought to be neutral to try to be neutral. And I'll bring you to a particular situation. You brought people in to do training
for LGBTQ or BQT, whichever it is. More than one of your faculty described them as derisive of Christian beliefs. Do you know about that? I attended that session, and I would not characterize
Speaker 87
1:16:28
it in that way. And there may be the problem, but
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:16:33
are you aware that some of your faculty characterized it that way? I am aware that
Speaker 20
1:16:39
two faculty members voiced concerns regarding that session. Okay. Is it possible that with
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:16:45
the some saying they're afraid of retaliation, etc., that there could be more than two? Again, I
Speaker 18
1:16:56
only know the individuals that have voiced their
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:16:59
concerns. Did they recommend at that training deceiving parents? They did not. They did not. They did not recommend saying one thing at the school or calling a student by one name
at the school and calling them
Speaker 25
1:17:18
something else when the parents call? I
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:17:21
do not believe the presenters recommended that. can dig into that we can dig into a lot of things again I've been quiet I have not wanted to do anything to cause dispersions on school that we're proud of and proud to have in our city but I also don't want to leave the idea that that there's been
a bunch of allegations that just weren't true there are there are
no doubt when there are allegations that some of them are not true. But how many
times, Mr. Alderdice, have I called you about political events that notices went out? Do you remember? I believe once. Twice. but I didn't call you every time it happened
and so that's why when that's why when it came up and there wasn't a sponsor we said for the Republican club that that took on more significance because there were more than there's a pattern of incidents and that perhaps you don't
see because I always try to look at things outside my own philosophy and say if I wasn't thinking the way I think, would I see some problems here?
And so that's, you know, I'm becoming more disturbed because, again, I had one meeting with Dr. Bobbitt and didn't have another one because I said it seems like y'all got things under control, But I don't like the idea that allegations are not necessarily true, et cetera, et
cetera. I am sure that there are things that have been exaggerated and things that aren't true. But I don't think that we want to go into everything that is true.
And, again, I'm going to come back to serious errors, not room for improvement, when it comes to dealing with high school kids, something that
I know something about. And let me ask this to
both Dr. Bobbitt and you, Mr. Olavuskas, again, you obviously have a great deal of expertise when it comes to scholastics. Why? Because I'm not bringing up specific situations, but things that we know happen. And we said, you know, we put new systems in place, we put new systems in place, we put
new systems in place. Had we not done any study of other schools that were boarding kids and what systems they had in place before these things
Speaker 20
1:20:17
happened? I think it would be helpful, Senator, to point that to
Speaker 33
1:20:25
a specific incident or issue. I think the answer to your question is yes. The handbook and the way that things were being treated I think reflect best practices.
Cory came from one of these institutions. He understands the landscape out there. I want to, you know, to go back to your point, the privilege walk, which has been brought up several times today, is 18 months removed. The concept of community withdrawal has been eliminated. One could make a case, for example, for a community withdrawal positive. Should a student's future in a potential attendance at a service academy or maybe a career with
the FBI or other senior law, should it be affected by a mistake made at 16 or 17? I think that the administrative team at ASMSA was trying to do right by the students. Other students saw that though as preferential treatment because of this characteristic or that. And my point is, if we're trying to do the right thing, but we're not having the desired effect and we're getting criticized for it, let's just abandon it. So when I say we've changed our policy,
I want you to know that we're discussing things right now that were prevalent 18 months ago in many circumstances, and we have been acting diligently over the summer and through this fall to address them, including, Corey, taking a much more active and visible participation in the Residence Life Program, which was not part of his response, well, it was part of his responsibility, but probably not part of his actions in the past. And I think it will, if nothing else,
It leads the residence life managers to understand that if there is a problem, they don't act on their own, they don't make decisions on their own, we get best practices, we get the senior leadership involved. The other thing I'll point out to you is that one of the handicaps or difficulties that Corey faces is the fact that he's not located on a college campus. And students who will take a job for what these positions pay, to be resident with 16- and 17-year-olds overnight,
and to make sure that they are safe and that their actions are appropriate, they typically, on our college campuses, take those jobs because they're interested in obtaining a higher-level degree that will eventually lead them to a position of senior leadership in an academic institution. The fact that ASMSA is not located on a college campus creates some problems for Corey. He has been working since this report came out in trying to find ways partnering with one of our other institutions that students could take courses over the summer at ASMSA's
expense and during the academic year online so that students could, even though we're not on a college campus, could continue to make progress toward an advanced degree which which would allow Corey to have residence managers who are more experienced, perhaps a little older, a little bit more seasoned. So when these issues come up, there would be, I think, a better sense of judgment perhaps being available. I don't want to throw anyone under the bus. I think the people in these positions are doing a diligent job to the best of their
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:23:53
abilities. Thank you. I am not going to bring up specifics. I have specifics. I don't think it will be productive today, but I will be glad to talk to you about them offline.
Thank you. Thank you, Senator Clark. Senator Garner, you recognize seat 90. Thank
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:24:20
you, Mr. Chair. Just a procedural question for the committee. Did we put the witnesses under oath when they came in?
I missed that whenever we initially started. Did we do that? Is that
a customary practice? we do not do that in jpr that i chaired in the house we have we have done that but it's not the norm that we have done in audit it
Speaker 72
1:24:46
can be done yes we we have done it in the past at certain times
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:24:51
i believe because of the disparity between testimony and many of the opinions of the committee that in future meetings if we have with this gentleman and these nature we
need to put them under oath for that
specific reason thank you thank you for your input uh seat 81 is that senator
Speaker 166
1:25:14
stubblefield i'm sorry irving you you've moved 81.
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
1:25:17
yep i'm sorry sorry question and i may have missed this i apologize i was not here at the beginning of the meeting um talk to me about your supervision for residential life
Speaker 48
1:25:29
supervision staff wise student wise could you clarify do
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
1:25:33
you have people living in the residential halls with people with the students how closely are they
Speaker 78
1:25:40
monitored sure so we have a residential staff of approximately 11 individuals there is an assistant Dean for residence life who I guess you could think of that as the second shift supervisor the the Dean of students who is the the the senior most position in the residential community is a daytime position the assistant dean is the the second shift supervisor in the
evenings which is primarily when the residential activities take place we have a staff of 10 residential mentors those are full-time staff members requiring at least a bachelor's degree as dr. Bobbitt notes it is a hybrid of individuals but often they are individuals who are interested in student affairs, college student personnel, effectively similar residential positions at a traditional university or college campus. So
Speaker 20
1:26:33
again, 11 total live-in staff members, so roughly a 20 to 1 ratio of students to employees.
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
1:26:41
Do you perform random drug testing? We do not. You do not? No. Not even? So that's inconsistent with other K
Speaker 78
1:26:52
through 12 public schools. It is consistent with our peer institutions. My
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
1:26:58
understanding of traditional public schools is that it's in context of athletics. Thank you. In context of athletics, but if you're in the band or any extracurricular activity, you can be drug tested. So it's extracurricular activities, which you do have extracurricular activities, don't you?
We do. Okay, so the way I understand you want to compare yourself to your colleagues, but the students that you are educating are students that come from K through 12. And so my comparison for your purposes is always going to be through K through 12 public school education here in the state of Arkansas. all. And the reason I'm asking about the drug testing and the supervision, and this was long
before any of you probably were a part of the administration, but I can tell you from a personal standpoint, I do not recommend parents sending their children to your institution because of what happened to my family. So I had a cousin who developed a very serious drug problem because of a lack of supervision and because of lack of drug testing when he transferred there from a small town. Now granted that could happen at any K-12 institution. It could happen any high school
education across the state. It could happen under any parent's roof. I understand that. But this is a young man with some severe issues, home life issues, who was living with his grandparents because his father was in jail, prison, really needed the extra supervision. You know, these folks thought this was going to be a great opportunity for their grandchild. And it ended up, I mean, he's smart enough, he was great,
but he did not have the abilities to control himself. And it was incredibly lack in supervision. And so your program worked, got him into a great university, got him great scholarships, but it failed because he died of a drug overdose his freshman year of college. And that would be my cousin. So, you know, I would highly recommend, and again, I'm not putting that on y'all because this happened before.
This happened many, many years ago, but I'm telling you that because I think it's fair to say that on behalf of my family and my family's loss and for that young man who was an astounding, outstanding young man academically, very talented saxophone player. In fact, I still have a saxophone, and so it was a huge loss, and so I can just tell you, I tell parents, absolutely not. I would never recommend sending my child.
They're going to get a great education at Rural Special, to be quite frank. There are kids that are astrophysicists that graduate from Rural Special in Fox, Arkansas. So, you know, I just say that so that you have a perspective that perhaps you might need to hear. I do think that random drug testing should be a part of your policies. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Thank you,
and I have one more in the queue.
Representative, well, I've had another one pop up. Representative Lowry. If we
can be concise on these, we'll wrap this up a little bit.
Speaker 124
1:30:53
Thank you, Mr. Chair. There was when Representative
Speaker 57
1:30:59
Gassaway, Chairman Gassaway, actually listed a number of allegations that had arose and they were dealt
Speaker 124
1:31:06
with one by one.
One of them that I don't think was dealt with complete testimony was
Speaker 57
1:31:16
the question about drug activity. and I'm just bringing this up because we are attempting to put on the record conversations that have taken place in meetings but also incidences that are reported in the review and one of them is on page 32 of the review where it talks about the drug incident where it was reported that there was some drug
activity taking place off campus but it was ASMSA students and when it was brought to the attention of I assume residential life people people and they had to handle it totally because the Dean of Students was not on campus you were not on campus several other layers of administrative oversight were not on campus a student was taken from their room in the middle of the night and taken
to that off-campus location to show the residential life folks where the drugs were hidden I don't know if it was ever proven that this student had actually partaken in the drug activity but the student actually knew of the incident The questions I have are much like the issue of the sexual assault allegation where this was all handled internally. It was not reported to outside authorities, which the sexual allegation issue is very disconcerting because these are minors,
and the individuals at the ASMSA should be mandated reporters. But in the drug activity, this was not, I just want you to confirm for me, this was not reported to local police in Hot Springs. Is that correct? It was not. It was not. The actual collection of the drugs, and I can only assume that it was marijuana, but I don't know. There's no chain of command or, excuse me, chain of custody of where those drugs ended up, whether they were properly disposed of.
Is this something that is being addressed in new policy changes to make sure that when there is drug activity, the local and i am absolutely respectful of president bobbitt's argument that you don't want to hurt a student's future whether it's applying to service academy or fbi or whatever but you know these things happen all the time unfortunately bad choices are made and i just don't believe that just because a student gets selected to attend asmsa that that insulates them
from their actions so could you answer to what what changes in policy have taken place just specific to the drug allegation the drug activity issue sure so originally
Speaker 61
1:34:23
the materials were turned over to our contract security provider and disposed of the previous understanding from hot springs police
Speaker 20
1:34:32
department given you know low level materials marijuana was that that simple disposal of those would be sufficient when we met with hot springs police department this summer
that continued to be their position but we reinforced that it would be more appropriate and we would be more confident going forward with the following process and that would be that we would call them to report any findings and that they would come to acquire
Speaker 124
1:35:03
and then would then they would be responsible for disposal okay um my follow-up on
Speaker 57
1:35:09
actually some other questions have been raised recently about financial concerns and an audit being recommended and I understand that the ASMSA has a foundation is that
Speaker 20
1:35:21
correct we are a part of the University
Speaker 57
1:35:25
of Arkansas Foundation Inc okay so this is not a separate foundation for the math and science school it's the U of A foundation that's correct okay so I would I would assume President Bobbitt that the same argument that is always made about the foundation being immune to any FOI request would still stand in terms of any contributions and expenditures made by ASMSA from foundation funds?
Speaker 11
1:35:53
I'll have to consult with attorneys for the foundation to make that decision, offer a
Speaker 33
1:35:59
decision on that. I would say if you have a question about expenditures of ASMSA, we
Speaker 124
1:36:06
will provide an answer for you okay I appreciate that well let me ask a
Speaker 57
1:36:14
couple of questions about specific finances funding was was provided either through foundation funding or state funding that goes to ASMSA for the
installation of four electric car chargers one of which services your you're privately owned Tesla, where did those funds come from? Which source? I would like to review the materials to answer that question. You're
Speaker 57
1:36:41
come from to be used for your personal car? There is a public electric vehicle charger
Speaker 135
1:36:48
available on our campus to multiple individuals. And there are four, correct?
Speaker 124
1:36:54
I believe so, yes. Okay. Can you get back with me or the committee on
Speaker 135
1:37:01
where the funding came from that? I believe we've provided that information
Speaker 57
1:37:05
to audit, but yes, we'd be happy to make that available to you. Okay. And also the question about foreign trips. I know you just recently came back from a trip with some students to China. Is that correct? Japan. Japan. Okay. How were the students selected that were able to attend that? and where do the resources come from to pay for their travel expenses as well as yours?
And I understand that your wife also traveled with you. That's incorrect. That is incorrect. Okay. The students then, where do the resources come from? Do they pay
Speaker 20
1:37:43
for that themselves? So the eight students that attended the recent delegation to Japan applied to attend. Primarily, they are students who are in upper-level Japanese language courses to represent the institution at this peace delegation in Hiroshima and Osaka. The students, too, received a full scholarship, a needs-based scholarship,
because they do come from low-income backgrounds. And then the six additional students received a $750 grant toward the cost. Those come from state funding through our global learning program. Okay. Let
Speaker 124
1:38:15
me back step just a second, and i'll i'll be finished mr
Speaker 57
1:38:21
chair you said that the information has been provided to audit for what funds were used to pay for the chargers the electric car chargers but yet you say you
don't know what resources i mean would that audit include the foundation funding if that's where the money came
Speaker 87
1:38:41
from again our finance staff prepared that
Speaker 57
1:38:45
information for audit Okay, and you included information related to expenses and revenue that go to the foundation? I do not
Speaker 20
1:38:53
believe that there were foundation funds used for those
Speaker 57
1:38:56
projects. Okay, so in other words, the question that I asked, and the answer is that it was
Speaker 127
1:39:03
paid for by state taxpayer dollars that go to ASMSA.
Speaker 135
1:39:07
I would prefer to review the information to confirm
Speaker 124
1:39:11
that statement. But if the information, okay, fine. i think that there's a little double speak here if it's provided
Speaker 57
1:39:18
to audit then obviously it was state funds if that information is correct okay thank you very much
thank you mr chair mr chair and mr represent larry i think what he said when you said you would get back with representative lowry if you will get that to our staff to
jpr staff of course uh center clark and then
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
1:39:37
representative brown thank you mr. chair the you know i wish uh that our only reason
for being here today was to talk about academics uh because i not only am i complimentary i have to say that
i'm impressed um and especially uh when you talk about two-thirds of the students uh being I
believe you said below poverty line one-third one-third and and because we
talk about all the time how we can't how that it's difficult to educate our poor the couple things one DCFS the sexual assault whether it was real or
that wasn't real if my child was there I would be a lot more comfortable and I speak as the chair of the Child Welfare Legislative Oversight Committee if the
phone call was just made to the hotline I think it almost every other school if not every other school in the state the call would
have been made to the hotline instead of discussing with the lawyers and so I just want to offer that I would like to see you Dr. Bobbitt and Mr. Allardyce follow up on the drug testing suggestion I
think that is a deterrent in a lot of places and when you've got
this many kids away from home I understand how difficult they are to supervise I've had lots of kids not for not for a year but for a few days and I think that
would be helpful to you and to them to protect them and finally because I think I don't just think I have no doubt Dr. Bobbitt and I love Melissa Rust and
I have no doubt that Dr. Bobbitt and Corey that y'all your
hearts in the right place you won't do the best thing for these kids going forward one of the things here in the legislature you know as I work with people who think very differently from me and I would suggest that you look for balance that you look for somebody that thinks more like Brent Smith or me to help balance your direction when it comes to to life with young people that
many there dr bobbitt because i i would be careful if i i know my bents and my philosophy and i'd be careful that i would have somebody to balance me uh if i were there that i weren't
just leading leading everybody down one path and those are uh are not questions mr chair uh other than i guess i can
end it with wouldn't you agree and which they may not but the
Speaker 67
1:42:44
chair of mine Thank you, Senator Clark. Representative Brown.
Speaker 184
1:42:50
Thank you, Mr. Chair. I believe this question I have is for Mr. Alderdice. Yes. In
Speaker 185
1:42:58
response, as a follow-up to Representative Lowry's question, when a student has been involved with drugs, And so you said that you would call the local police. Is that correct? Did I get that part correct? No, that's incorrect.
Speaker 87
1:43:21
What did you say? I said if we find a student in possession of drugs, they are handed over to our contract security provider and previously have been
Speaker 135
1:43:31
disposed of per the agreement with the Hot Springs Police Department. So the school hands
Speaker 185
1:43:36
the drugs over? To our contract security provider. Are the parents, my question then is, are the parents informed? Yes, for
Speaker 135
1:43:44
our disciplinary processes. Thank you. Co-Chair Gassaway.
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:43:53
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. What I think would be beneficial is, looking at the executive summary again, there were suggestions made, And my understanding is that the administration has begun to implement those suggestions. And so I'd like to walk through some of those and let you guys talk about what you're doing. So I would start with number six, clarify procedures on investigations of major incidents.
And so I think that goes to some of Senator Clark's concerns and Representative Brown's concerns and various other representatives who've expressed concern about how the investigation of the alleged sexual assault was conducted. And so if we could start there, could you tell the committee what you're doing to try to remedy that? So
Speaker 11
1:44:46
in terms of a potential sexual assault, the hotline will be called. End of the story. in
Speaker 33
1:44:54
terms of drug incidents what has happened in the past is that in
communications with the local law enforcement professionals they had advised the school because they have a licensed security force on on staff 24 7 that they confiscate the drugs and dispose of them we have talked to the local police and we have told them that we don't want that responsibility even though it is sufficient for them and that they will come get the drugs and And if they choose to press charges on an individual, that's really a law enforcement decision, not ours, going forward.
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:45:33
So just to keep going, five, students' perception of residence life rules. Residence life should consider how to counter students' negative perceptions that staff is too strict, inconsistent, threatening, and picking on them. Focus groups might be used to elicit ideas from students. Are you guys implementing anything with regard to that
Speaker 11
1:45:51
suggestion? I think the most telling, so the
Speaker 33
1:45:53
answer is there's a number of avenues but but sir i think the most telling is that corey has been making a concerted effort to be in the residence halls so that not only the resident managers but
the students have a visible indication of the leadership of the school and the hope is that people will not feel intimidated if there are issues that need to be brought forward to his attention.
Speaker 87
1:46:19
Mr. Chairman, if I may, again, the data reflected that there was actually a
Speaker 78
1:46:25
significant decrease in disciplinary incidents in the previous year. To offer a little context on that as well, these level one offenses are community norms. They are certainly not the kinds of things that
would constitute discipline in most public school settings, but they are part of being a good resident and participant in the residential community. What the staff had attempted to do last year was rather than to treat these as formal discipline, which includes a write-up, a meeting with the dean of students, the thought was that it was most appropriate to address those incidents in the moment in an interpersonal setting. I think what we had found, though, based on the feedback from students was that sometimes, much like when you get a speeding ticket,
you'd rather take the piece of paper and move on than have an earnest conversation about maybe what you didn't quite do so well and how you want to move forward from that. So part of that boils down to just a shift in practice last year, but I think as we've met with the Student Government Association, with the Student Handbook Committee and others, they have understood that procedurally, it
Speaker 24
1:47:29
makes a lot of sense, and as a community, it makes a lot of sense to adopt that as
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:47:36
well. Okay, thank you, let me continue.
Concerns raised about recent drug incidents. I recommend that ASMSA determine whether there is a drug problem, and whether there are proactive measures that could be taken. This may be an area where other campuses have addressed similar issues and could provide guidance. And so we've heard Senator Urban's story, and we've heard that there may be real legitimate issues with regards to drugs, drug use by the students or on campus, and understanding that that's
no different than any other high school in the state. Those issues are common and widespread throughout the state. But what are you doing specifically or going to do differently in the future to
Speaker 11
1:48:22
address that specific point? So I think the focus is to prevent incidents and to educate the students. And
Speaker 33
1:48:28
so the school nurse is now conducting sessions on substance abuse at the start of each school year. Substance abuse is addressed in the floor meetings throughout the year. The Hot Springs Police Department is now the go-to resource when drugs are discovered.
and I'll let Director Alderdice speak to this, but I don't think that the incidents, what we have is an incident or a few incidences, but I wanted to dispel the idea that it's rampant, the drug use within it. But they also can bring in, when information becomes available, their canine unit for random drug tests, or random drug sampling within, and detection within the residence halls. And if I may add to Dr.
Speaker 87
1:49:13
Bobbitt's comments, the school does reserve the right to proactively test a student.
Speaker 78
1:49:19
Typically that has been, you know, under suspicion of potential use, but not randomized. So I take it
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:49:26
these are changes that we can expect to see in the next year. They have been done, yes, and are ongoing. Okay. Training. Residence Life staff members express that they need more training, both during orientation and on an ongoing basis. Is this something that you guys have addressed? If so,
Speaker 78
1:49:45
how? So I met personally with our Residence Life staff at the beginning of the year
to hear from them what topics or areas of interest they feel as though they haven't, you know, perhaps been as familiar or, you know, accustomed to and would like to see additional training. So in addition to the weekly staff meetings that the Res Life staff has, We have focused on a particular topic for training each specific week, and our Dean of Students has been documenting that for their own benefit and for campus-wide improvement. We've also ensured that all,
that campus-wide training involves Res Life staff. There have been some activities that have specifically been for faculty in the past, but for a cohesive community, and certainly to these individuals' benefit, we've made sure that trainings include both faculty and Res Life staff going forward. no matter the topic. And again, we've worked to better advise our Res Life staff members on how to approach challenging subjects. Again, there are conversations that they have to have on occasion and how best to navigate that, especially given the dynamic of, you know, certainly they are the supervisor of these young people,
but they also have a personal relationship with
Speaker 33
1:51:00
them. I would like to also add that, you know, the reason why the U.S. Armed Forces are successful is that they train and practice in situations before they become a crisis. And so one of the things that was suggested, and I think it's very good, is that the staff is undergoing practice training on these events so that it almost becomes routine in terms of how you handle them. And, of course, people forget their training over time, and so part of the recommendation that we've implemented is that the staff will be tested, if you will, questioned,
and will go over their familiarity with the processes that have
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:51:36
been put in place throughout the school year very good thank you and so just to continue on quickly and i'm almost finished there were issues about communications with parents and increasing parent engagement with the administration and some of those recommendations included as msa schedule a parents meeting also re-establish an active parents association and
the Parents Advisory Council, consider dispute resolution as a method for addressing misunderstandings between parents and staff. Has there been any implementation of those recommendations? Sure, if I may. So with the opening of
Speaker 78
1:52:12
our new facility, which gives us formal space on campus to host a large group, we were able to expand our Family Connections Day at the beginning of the year. This was one of the most specific opportunities we had to go through many of these items that you point out. In particular, we were able to host a luncheon
that provided an opportunity for more discussion and dialogue as we've had in the past. So we, again, we continue to maintain the Parents' Association Facebook group, which allows us to have ongoing dialogue with parents. We have worked to rebuild the Parents' Association and the Advisory Council. We have about a dozen parents this year who have volunteered to participate in those conversations. We'll be hosting quarterly online Q and A's. Again, one of our challenges is with that lack of proximity from families,
we have to look to various means to bridge that. And again, parents have been solicited to participate in a variety of volunteer activities on campus. To your point about dispute resolution, that has been previously highlighted in the handbook. It's fairly common sense, start where the issue is and work your way up through there. But we did go through that point by point with parents during the Connections Day through some online messages as well. I think much of the concern with parent communication boils down to the boundaries of employee privacy and FERPA.
We have always tried to be direct and forthright with parents, but I think the cases specifically last year that were highlighted are in circumstances where would it be beneficial and would we like to put out every single detail? Absolutely. Are we able to under FERPA? Definitely not, though. Okay. I think that's helpful.
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
1:53:57
I think that identifies several of the problems. It shows, I think, that you're acting in good faith to try to remedy those and implement solutions, and so I appreciate that. If anyone else has any other questions.
I'm not seeing any more questions on the board I want to thank
committee members and my co-chair Gassaway for today thank you for being here and answering our questions hopefully this the dialogue in getting answers and sometimes just it's two two sides of a coin but sometimes that's what it takes be helpful to move things for the better so we thank you for being here today and with that
meeting is adjourned You
Agenda
A. Call to Order
B. Opening Remarks
C. Consideration to Approve the September 11, 2019, Meeting Minutes [Exhibit C]
D. Overview of the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences, and the Arts (ASMSA) [Exhibit D]
E. Other Business
F. Adjournment
Documents
| Title | Type | Pages | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agenda — JOINT PERFORMANCE REVIEW (JPR), Nov 12, 2019 | Agenda | 1 | Official source ↗ |
| EXHIBIT C - 9 11 19 Minutes Approved 11 12 19 | Exhibit | 8 | Official source ↗ |
| EXHIBIT D - ASMSA - Igniting Arkansas' Potential | Exhibit | 15 needs OCR | Official source ↗ |
| Letter dated 11-12-19 from Ms Valerie Carpenter to JPR Chairs | Exhibit | 2 | Official source ↗ |
Speakers
Senator Terry Rice Chair
Unverified
Representative Jimmy Gazaway
Unverified
Speaker 9
Speaker 11
Speaker 14
Speaker 18
Speaker 20
Speaker 29
Speaker 33
Speaker 38
Representative Stu Smith
Unverified
Speaker 55
Speaker 57
Speaker 61
Speaker 64
Speaker 66
Speaker 69
Speaker 70
Senator Kim Hammer
Unverified
Speaker 78
Speaker 84
Speaker 44
Speaker 65
Speaker 87
Senator Bill Sample
Unverified
Speaker 109
Senator Gary Stubblefield
Unverified
Speaker 91
Speaker 24
Speaker 124
Speaker 125
Speaker 127
Speaker 30
Senator Alan Clark
Unverified
Speaker 25
Speaker 72
Speaker 166
Senator Missy Irvin
Unverified
Speaker 48
Speaker 135
Speaker 67
Speaker 184
Speaker 185