Springdale Public Schools (formally Springdale School District #50) is the publicschool district for students of primary and secondary education in Springdale, Arkansas and surrounding areas. The district contains three high schools, four junior highs, four middle schools, eighteen elementary schools, and a school of innovation. Established in 1884, the district and its schools are accredited by AdvancED. It is the state's largest school district, with more than 23,000 students.[4]
Beginning with log cabin schools in the area established by early settlers, an educational partnership among schools coalesced into Springdale School District #50 on January 7, 1884. When high school curriculum became required in 1947, Springdale adopted many small surrounding districts that did not offer high school,[5] such as Accident School in Accident.[6] The last such school consolidated into Springdale was Tontitown Elementary, which was closed after the 1986-87 school year.[5]
Expansion, new high schools
On the heels of rapid growth in Northwest Arkansas and Springdale in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Springdale had reached capacity in many of its existing schools. Land for a second high school was purchased in 2002 on the west side of Springdale.[7] This property was developed into Har-Ber High School and Hellstern Middle School, both opened in 2005.
Population growth continued and Springdale used 24 portable buildings to house an overflow of about 600 students for the 2005-06 school year as building continued. A "super complex" of four schools on nearby properties was proposed in the rapidly-growing southeast part of Springdale in 2006.[8] In 2006, Har-Ber HS was projected to be at capacity by 2009.[9]
Service area
In Washington County it includes all portions of Springdale and Elm Springs in Washington County, Tontitown, and portions of Fayetteville, Goshen, and Johnson.[10] In Benton County it includes most of that county's portions of Springdale (including the former municipality of Bethel Heights) as well as all of that county's portion of Elm Springs.[11]
Jim Rollins Elementary School a.k.a. Jim D. Rollins School of Innovation, uses an open classroom instructional model from New Zealand. Planning for the school began circa 2018;[14] In October 2020 the district began building the school,[15] which opened in fall 2021, though with some construction left unfinished.[14] The dedication occurred in 2022. The school was named after a person who served as the superintendent of the Springdale district.[15]
Shaw Elementary School
Smith Elementary School - National Blue Ribbon School in 1987-88.
Sonora Elementary School
Turnbow Elementary School
Tyson Elementary School
Walker Elementary School - National Blue Ribbon School in 1996-97.
Westwood Elementary School - National Blue Ribbon School in 1989-90.
Young Elementary School
In 2012, the Gold Award of Distinction in the HealthierUS School Challenge that recognizes excellence in nutrition and physical activity by the Food and Nutrition Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture was awarded to:[16]
