Lisa Academy Fayetteville Middle School

Lisa Academy Fayetteville Middle School is a small, high-performing charter school in Fayetteville, Arkansas, serving just 31 students in grades 6 through 8 and earning a 5-star rating that places it in the 91st percentile of all Arkansas middle schools.

This school stands out most for its exceptional math performance, with 65.6% of students proficient—far exceeding the state average of 44.1% and outperforming nearly every nearby school. Sixth graders are particularly strong, with 72.1% proficient in math, compared to 45.1% statewide. The school also excels in science, where 54.1% of students are proficient, beating the state average of 44%. While overall results are impressive, there is a notable dip in 7th grade, where English Language Arts proficiency drops to 44.5% (below the Lisa Academy district average) and math falls to 50%, suggesting a transition challenge that parents may want to explore further.

What makes this school particularly interesting is how it achieves top-tier results with a fraction of the resources and students of nearby schools. For context, Woodland Junior High School (97th percentile) and Hellstern Middle School (93rd percentile) also rank highly but serve over 650 students each. Lisa Academy’s tiny enrollment of 31 creates a fundamentally different environment, likely offering more individualized attention and a tight-knit community. The contrast with Helen Tyson Middle School, just 2.58 miles away, is striking: Helen Tyson has a 2-star rating and serves a population that is 83.58% low-income, while Lisa Academy, with 45.16% low-income students, achieves a 5-star rating. This demonstrates how a focused charter model can deliver strong outcomes even when competing with well-regarded traditional public schools like those in the Fayetteville School District.