The eStem Charter Management Organization

Our Reason for Being

The eStem Charter Management Organization (CMO) recognizes that quality educational opportunities for all families in central Arkansas will enable students to compete and excel, both nationally and internationally. By raising the bar among all educational providers in central Arkansas through competition, students will leave high school “college ready,” and the state and region will be able to attract, retain and sustain increasingly strong economic growth and vitality.

The eStem CMO also recognizes that quality educational choice is available for some families in the area, but not for others. Families of more affluence do have choices by simply choosing to buy houses in neighborhoods that are zoned for high performing schools, or pay tuition and place their children in private, high-quality schools.

For families residing in neighborhoods that offer housing to meet their struggling financial situations, however, neither of these is an option in many instances. They are often forced to send their children to the district’s lowest performing schools, which not only deprives these children of quality educational opportunities, but continues to feed the generational cycle of poverty and missed opportunity for students who might have tremendous potential.

With the belief that all children can and will learn at high levels – with high standards and a rigorous curriculum – while learning and meeting performance levels associated with consistently high expectations, there are three alternatives for these students. eStem Elementary Public Charter School (K-4), eStem Middle Public Charter School (5-8) and eStem High Public Charter School (9-12) which are separate charter schools with a combined goal of teaching Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, infusing the principles of economics in public charter schools for underserved families in central Arkansas public schools. These schools will provide proof that all children, regardless of background or circumstance, can and will succeed in a rigorous educational setting.

With these core beliefs guiding everything we do, we offer the following Mission Statement:

The eStem Charter Management Organization will offer assistance to all charter schools in developing a different and rigorous curriculum in a disciplined environment and to use the latest educational techniques, with the ultimate goal to attain the highest performing schools based on improvement in individual student achievement.

What Our Mission Entails

The eStem Charter Management Organization will work with all charter schools to offer these services. The schools will offer a choice for all students in central Arkansas, including students from families who would not be able to afford private schools or homes in attendance zones of higher performing public schools.

The schools plan to compete for students, for teachers, for administrators, and for private funding with both private and other public schools. They will use the latest educational techniques, such as longitudinal tracking, to measure improvements for each individual student from quarter to quarter and year to year.

Their students’ performance will be compared with other students throughout the United States, and the schools will make these results available and transparent for families and the community to see. The ultimate goal is to have the highest performing schools in Arkansas based on improvement in individual student achievement from year to year.