Today, we are excited to share the story of the extraordinary artist and leader Dr. Allison Roberts, CEO and Superintendent of Arkansas Arts Academy
A lifelong multimedia artist, Dr. Allison Roberts rarely limits herself to a single medium. She says painting, clay, fiber arts, mixed media, and textiles all find their way into her pieces.
Lately, she’s been drawn to combining painting and hand stitching to literally weave together different forms of expression into a single piece. This instinct of blending disciplines colors more than her art; it defines a three-decade career in education.
“I’ve always loved weaving things together,” Allison said. “Whether it’s art, history, music, literature, or science, students make stronger connections when learning doesn’t happen in silos.”
At the Arkansas Arts Academy in Rogers, Arkansas, the arts are integrated not as an enrichment activity but as a framework for teaching, learning, and student growth.
Allison knew she wanted to be a teacher by third grade, though she wasn’t sure what kind.
In the early 1990s, she found her calling as a visual arts educator. Allison built her career across multiple states, serving in teaching, arts leadership, and administrative positions in Florida, California, and Arkansas.
From 2018-2021, she was as a senior education policy advisor to former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, gaining a front-row seat to state policy and education governance.
For Allison, Arkansas Arts Academy is a culmination of her life’s work.
“People who don’t understand the power of arts education often see it as a supplement,” Allison said. “We see it as the driver that creates innovators, creative thinkers, and students who know how to solve problems in new ways.”
Arkansas Arts Academy was founded in 2014 through a merger of the Northwest Arkansas Academy of Fine Arts and the Benton County School of the Arts, two charter schools serving students from more than 20 communities across Northwest Arkansas. It is the only charter school fully centered on arts integration.
When Allison joined near the end of the pandemic, she saw an opportunity to reimagine how schools could reconnect students to learning while leveraging the region’s arts organizations, theaters, galleries, and museums like Crystal Bridges.
Under her leadership, the school recently became a model lab for arts integration through a partnership with Artful Learning, a framework inspired by Leonard Bernstein’s approach to connecting learning across disciplines through the arts.
“It’s really the reason I became a teacher in the first place,” she said.
More Than an Arts School
Allison is quick to challenge the misconception that arts-focused education is ineffective.
“I think parents often believe you have to choose between academics and the arts,” she said. “You don’t.”
At Arkansas Arts Academy, elementary students explore concepts across subject areas through artistic experiences, while secondary students engage in increasingly rigorous classwork enhanced by creativity and project-based learning. The goal isn’t just exposure to the arts, but students demonstrate mastery in multiple ways through writing, performance, visual arts, music, and movement.
“We know students come to us with different strengths and exceptionalities,” said Allison, who added that students come from across a 50-mile radius. “Some are gifted, some are twice-exceptional, some are still discovering who they are. We want all students to find pathways to success.”
From Passion to Profession
The school’s connection to art extends beyond classroom experiences. Students participate in internships aligned to their artistic interests, working alongside professionals in galleries, performance venues, production studios, and community organizations. Some leave with portfolios; others leave with bona fide businesses.
“We have students who already have entrepreneurship ventures happening,” Allison said. “They’re selling, working, building brands, creating products, and developing professional skills while still in high school.”
Students are gaining experience in curation, gallery management, and exhibition design, while showcasing their work alongside professional artists.
One example comes through the school’s ongoing collaboration with Crystal Bridges. Students serve as curators and interpreters, discussing works of art through historical, literary, and cultural lenses. In another annual event, students activate museum spaces through dance, music, and performance inspired by the collections around them.
“The students are finding their voices,” Allison said. “They’re realizing they understand history, literature, and culture through these experiences.”
Leadership Through Creativity
Allison leads with the same creativity that she creates with.
“I spend a lot of time supporting teachers in thinking differently,” she said. “If an idea helps students engage deeply and aligns with learning goals, let’s explore it.”
She believes creativity thrives in environments where educators feel empowered rather than constrained.
“I love seeing students running down the hallway carrying a guitar on their way from ballet to another class,” Allison said. “This is a place where students get to be completely themselves.”
A Different Vision for the Future
As schools nationwide continue to wrestle with technology’s role in the classroom, the Arkansas Arts Academy is intentionally reducing its reliance on technology by approximately 60%.
The goal is not eliminating technology, but rather to re-center. Teachers are reimagining instruction through Socratic seminars, collaborative projects, outdoor learning, creative production, and deeper interpersonal engagement.
“We want students writing, creating, making, performing, discussing, and thinking,” said Allison. “Technology has a place, but it can’t be the default.”
Expanding the Model
Arkansas Arts Academy is in the planning stages of expanding into Central Arkansas, with plans to replicate its arts-integrated model in a second location. Plans are to open in 2027.
“We know we’re not the right fit for everyone,” Allison said. “But for students who learn this way, who thrive through creativity and connection, we want to make those opportunities available.”
While Allison’s responsibilities now include budgets, compliance reports, strategic planning, and state accountability, she still finds herself energized by the same thing that drew her into education.
Whenever leadership challenges feel heavy, she walks the halls visiting classrooms, watching students create, and observing teachers remembering why she started.
“I thought I would be an art teacher forever to feel inspired,” she said. “But I realized it’s not about the position. It’s about being surrounded by creativity and innovation.”