Lepaine Sharp-McHenry, assistant director of the Eleanor Mann School of Nursing at the University of Arkansas, has been elected to lead the Arkansas Virtual Academy as the chair of the academy’s Board of Directors. 

The first public school (K-8) in Arkansas to deliver all courses online, the Arkansas Virtual Academy is governed by an independent, nonprofit board composed of community leaders. The board retains ultimate responsibility for the full operation of the school. Sharp-McHenry’s service to the school began in the second year after the school opened to serve students throughout Arkansas.

Sharp-McHenry has been a registered nurse since 1981. She was recognized as one of Fayetteville’s Top Five Young Professionals in 1999 and as Outstanding Young Arkansan in 1999. Sharp-McHenry represented her congressional district at the 2004 African American Leadership Summit. She served two terms as president of the Board of Directors for the Community Clinic at St. Francis House in Springdale and is currently president-elect of the Junior League of Northwest Arkansas.

She has served four appointments by the governor of Arkansas to the Long Term Care Advisory Board, Minority Health Commission, Arkansas State Board of Nursing and the Governor’s Roundtable on Healthcare. Of those, she served as vice president and president of the Arkansas State Board of Nursing. Sharp-McHenry is an enthusiastic patient advocate and has gained respect of industry leaders across the country.

In 2007, the Arkansas Virtual Academy became a public charter school with approval from the Arkansas State Board of Education, and it has served 500 students statewide with an average waiting list of 1,000 students. This past April, the school’s charter was renewed, and the school continues to serve students through a unique combination of technology and Arkansas-certified and highly qualified teachers. 

A recent study conducted at the University of Arkansas showed improved student performance for students enrolled in the Arkansas Virtual Academy over a three-year period when compared to academic gains of their resident-district peers over the same three years.