Little Rock’s MLK Academy to focus on language & leadership, will offer Mandarin, ASL courses

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.- A redesigned Little Rock School District facility is adding language programs to improve student proficiency.

Starting in the fall of 2024, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary will become the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership and Language Academy, refocusing its efforts on language and offering courses in Spanish, Mandarin and American Sign Language to elementary students.

The course additions come as LRSD officials looked to improve extremely low reading proficiency levels, which had fallen as low as 23%.

District officials said educational research has shown learning foreign language skills have been linked to reading skill enhancement. This led the district to develop a language magnet school concept that is being first implemented at MLK.

Newly appointed principal Clifton Woodley said the language program is groundbreaking for the district. Implementing language teaching will enhance reading skills and prepare students to function in a global society, he said.

“It gives them the opportunity to learn about other cultures, become immersed, exposed, and be able to take those things home to be able to share with their parents," Woodley explained.

In addition to the focus on language, Woodley said the school will also teach leadership skills through a partnership with the Clinton School for Public Service.

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