It’s not just a new school year for Arkansas Baptist Schools. It’s the 35th anniversary of the school’s founding and they are celebrating in a huge way—they’ve changed their name to The Baptist Preparatory School! In a press release, Clayton Vaden, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said “The new name more accurately describes the college preparatory nature of the curricular program and teaching style, as well as Baptist Prep’s commitment to biblical training and preparing students for spiritual and social leadership roles.”

In August, eStem Public Charter Schools announced a unique partnership with the University of Arkansas at Little Rock—the charter school plans to move its high school to the UALR campus to allow for much-needed growth. In fact, the tuition-free charter school currently has a waiting list of more than 5,200 students. The school will lease and renovate one of the university’s classroom buildings for its 11th and 12th grade students; for the 9th and 10th grades, a new building will be constructed by July 2017. One of the benefits of housing the high school on a college campus? Students in 11th and 12th grades will have the option of taking college-credit courses and could graduate high school with an associate degree.

Baseline Academy is Little Rock School District’s newest academy concept. The school will offer a uniquely focused literacy and language program, which will support the development of a strong base of foundational literacy and reading skills for English Language Learners (ELL) and all students. The school will feature an extended school day (7:50 a.m.-4:05 p.m.) and will have many bilingual staff members.

Exciting news at your school? Send an email to BNeel@abpg.com to be considered for the next School Crossings column.