Summary:
Zip code 72903 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, is home to eight schools within the Fort Smith School District, serving elementary through high school grades with a wide range of academic performance levels.
The standout schools in this area are John P. Woods Elementary School, L. A. Chaffin Middle School, and Southside High School, all of which have earned 5-star ratings and consistently outperform district and state averages. For example, John P. Woods leads with 69.8% math proficiency, while L. A. Chaffin excels in Algebra with 92.1% proficiency. In contrast, Park Elementary School and Fort Smith Virtual Academy face significant challenges, with Park Elementary holding a 0-star rating and only 19.7% English Language Arts proficiency, and the Virtual Academy showing just 8.3% math proficiency despite a low student-teacher ratio of 8.4:1. Other schools like Euper Lane Elementary, Bonneville Elementary, and Raymond F. Orr Elementary fall in the middle, with Raymond F. Orr spending the most per student ($16,992) but only achieving a 3-star rating.
A key takeaway is that higher spending does not guarantee better results, as John P. Woods has the lowest per-student spending ($10,959) yet tops the charts. Additionally, the two high schools serve different populations: Southside High is a traditional, high-performing school with a graduation rate of 87.9%, while Fort Smith Virtual Academy struggles with a 78.2% graduation rate, highlighting the diverse educational needs within the same zip code. The top performers have shown consistent improvement over three years, suggesting stable leadership, while lower-performing schools face systemic challenges that require sustained attention.
Thank you for your feedback!