Monitor Elementary

Monitor Elementary is a public school in Springdale, AR, serving 586 students in grades PK-5 within the Springdale School District, where a high percentage of families (82.76%) qualify for free or reduced lunch. This school has consistently earned a 2-star rating over the past decade, placing it in the middle of the pack among Arkansas elementary schools, and it stands out as a stable option in a district where several nearby schools have seen dramatic declines.

One of Monitor’s most notable strengths is its 4th-grade reading program, where 40.7% of students are proficient—a rate that actually matches the state average and beats the district average. However, the school faces a clear challenge in science, with only 33.6% of all students proficient, which is over 10 percentage points below the state average. This gap is especially pronounced in 5th grade, where just 30.8% of students are proficient in science compared to 43.8% statewide. Interestingly, Monitor achieves these results with a relatively efficient budget of $12,288 per student, which is significantly lower than nearby schools like Harp Elementary ($18,402) and Linda Childers Knapp Elementary ($14,680).

When compared to its neighbors, Monitor sits in a unique middle ground. It outperforms struggling schools like Elmdale Elementary, Jones Elementary, and Parson Hills Elementary, which have fallen to the bottom 20% of the state. Yet it lags behind high-performing peers like Turnbow Elementary, which serves a similar demographic but achieves a 3-star rating and significantly higher math scores (56.1% vs. 40.3%). This suggests that while poverty is a challenge, it doesn’t determine outcomes, and Monitor’s leadership may benefit from studying the strategies used at Turnbow and Harp to improve its own results, particularly in addressing the "5th-grade slump" seen in its test scores.