Everything Nac

The charter for the Stephen F. Austin State University Charter School was recently renewed for another 10 years by the Texas Education Agency. The renewal term — the result of a painstaking process by the school’s staff members and meticulous review by the SFA Charter School board and Office of the General Counsel — begins July 31 and runs through July 31, 2033.

This is the school’s second charter renewal.

“We have such a deep passion for SFA, our charter school, and the thousands of children we have been honored to educate and love over the past 15 years,” said Lysa Hagan, CEO and principal of the school. “We are delighted that it can continue to support families and that we can maintain our teacher candidate training site for another 10 years.” 

The SFA Charter School was approved in January 2008 and opened in August of that same year. Located in the Janice A. Pattillo Early Childhood Research Center, the school is focused on improving public education and enhancing the preparation of future educators and school psychologists.

The school serves as a learning center for the James I. Perkins College of Education, providing hands-on and observational experiences for education students in various areas of study, including educational studies, kinesiology, music and school psychology. The school serves around 250 students from kindergarten through fifth grade.

“The SFA Charter School is an important aspect of the commitment to public education made by this university,” said Dr. Judy Abbott, dean of the Perkins College of Education. “Contributing to the educator preparation program and to educating children across the Nacogdoches community, the charter school models the excellence that can occur when teachers and administrators hold a common educational philosophy and a coordinated instructional approach through all the grade levels of this school. The renewal provides for another 10 years of investment in the future of teacher preparation and of Texas public schools.”

To learn more about the SFA Charter School, visit sfasu.edu/charterschool.

Dr. Bailey Thompson, assistant professor of advertising and public relations in Stephen F. Austin State University’s Department of Mass Communication, was selected as a 2022-23 scholar for the Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Research and Reform.

Part of Pennsylvania State University’s Student Affairs unit, the Piazza Center’s scholar program was established to develop new research initiatives and expand on research for professional practice in an effort to transform fraternities and sororities, according to its website. The program comprises current practitioners, post-doctoral scholars and doctoral candidates representing a variety of institutions and research backgrounds. Scholars conduct research focusing on Greek-life organizations, including hazing prevention strategies, student learning, leadership and community engagement.

“I am honored to be selected for such a prestigious opportunity,” Thompson said. “Many of the scholars at the Piazza Center are those I’ve been citing for years, and I still feel a bit starstruck working with such well-known researchers in the field.”

As a scholar, Thompson will join a research project regarding sororities at minority-serving institutions and will utilize her expertise in digital and social media research.

“Working with the Piazza Center opens so many doors for me as a researcher and allows me to work with sororities and fraternities across the country that I otherwise would not have access to,” Thompson said. “Additionally, it allows me to provide my expertise on social media and Greek life to a wider audience and work with such a talented group of researchers in the field.”

Thompson, who was a member of Greek life while in college, began her research in 2015, where she merged research interests with participation in Greek life. In the same year, she joined a project focused on the research of sexual assault and bystander intervention campaigning at Texas Tech University. Thompson also headed a small subsect of research regarding fraternity men and rape myth acceptance.

Her research can be found in journals such as Psychology of Popular Media Culture, Sexualization, Media, and Society and The Oracle: The Research Journal of the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors.