eStem Public Charter Schools closing UA Little Rock campus, moving others
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Officials with eStem Public Charter Schools announced Friday a plan to seek reorganization of its school campuses including the closing of its UA Little Rock campus.
According to a release, the restructuring plan will become effective this fall.
'This restructuring plan aims to right-size our district while remaining committed to our current eStem students and families,' Nick Patterson, CEO of eStem Public Charter Schools said. 'These adjustments allow us to ensure that we invest our resources in our students and your children.'
Keep Arkansas Beautiful reveals mural at eStem Public Charter School in Little Rock
Here is a list of changes coming as part of the new plan:
The Downtown Elementary School and East Village Elementary School will be consolidated into eStem Elementary School, split across the old Gazette Building and the Federal Reserve Buildings. Kindergarten – 4th grade will be in the old Gazette Building at 112 W. 3rd Street. Fifth and 6th grades will be directly across the street in the old Federal Reserve Building.
eStem Downtown Junior High School, located at 123 W. 3rd Street will be renamed eStem Junior High School and will relocate to 400 Shall Avenue in downtown Little Rock's East Village neighborhood. In this new location, eStem Junior High will serve all 7th and 8th graders.
eStem High School will move from its location on the campus of UA-Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., to 410 Shall Ave in downtown Little Rock's East Village neighborhood. eStem High School will serve all 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th graders in East Village.
This strategic restructuring will create two eStem campuses in downtown Little Rock, an elementary campus on W 3rd St, and a secondary campus in East Village.
School officials said that in this new structure, all eStem students will be within a mile of each other in downtown Little Rock. All eStem Schools will be within a mile of the River Cities Travel Center, allowing Rock Region Metro service from across the city.
COVID-19 affecting eStem Charter School students and staff within first week
The school said that virtual and homeschool options have increased since the COVID-19 pandemic and have changed the educational landscape throughout Arkansas since eStem's expansion seven years ago.
According to the school, their number of enrolled students has steadily decreased from 3,180 in 2020-21 to 2,358 in the 2024-25 school year.
Dr. Carrie Phillips, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer for the University of Arkansas at Little Rock said that the university is exploring its opportunities with the soon to be vacant building.
To learn more about eStem Public Charter Schools, .
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