Cavanaugh Elementary School, Fort Smith AR

Original Research by School Decision on Cavanaugh Elementary School

Cavanaugh Elementary School serves pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Fort Smith School District. It is a regular public elementary school, not a charter or magnet. The school enrollment is on the smaller side for its grade band. The student body is predominantly white, with a substantial share of students who are Hispanic, Black, or identify with two or more races. A very substantial majority of the students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating a high-need population. Data on special education identification and English learner status was not available for this school, a gap that may affect how a parent assesses available supports.

State testing results from the 2024-25 school year, Arkansas's ATLAS assessment, show a mixed picture across grades and subjects. In mathematics, the share of students scoring proficient or above rose steadily from a level below the halfway mark in third grade to a result above it in fourth grade, and then to a stronger result in fifth grade. In English language arts, proficiency rates were below half in third grade, reached just above half in fourth grade, then fell back to below half in fifth grade. Science results clustered around the halfway mark across all three tested grades, with a slight dip in fourth grade. Compared to other schools in districts across Sebastian County, Cavanaugh’s overall proficiency across all tested subjects and grades placed it in the top quartile. That is a notable relative strength within the local public school landscape, though the absolute figures show that a meaningful number of students are not yet meeting the state's proficiency benchmarks in core subjects.

Because the school ends at fifth grade, there is no graduation rate to report. Chronic absenteeism data was also not reported in the available material.

Housing in the immediate area around the school is priced a bit above the Arkansas statewide median. Typical home values and rents have been rising moderately. The mortgage-versus-rent calculus in this zip code tilts slightly in favor of buying, but the margin is narrow. The national unemployment rate has been steady, and inflation in rental costs continues to edge upward, which are broader economic pressures any family in the area will be contending with.

Fort Smith is a mid-sized regional hub with a diversified economy anchored by manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics. Major employers in the city include a large health system, the school district itself, a transportation and logistics firm, and a range of manufacturing plants. The city has a sprawling, car-dependent layout, with downtown concentrated near the Arkansas River and the Fort Smith National Historic Site. The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith operates a separate campus. The city's population has seen modest growth in recent years, and large-scale new housing development does not appear to be a defining feature of the current moment.

District-wide, the Fort Smith School District has seen notable recent changes relevant to families. In 2021, voters approved a property tax increase to fund teacher salaries, technology upgrades, and facility improvements, a significant commitment to school investment. In 2023, the school board rolled back the millage rate, easing some of that tax burden while maintaining district operations. Also in 2022, the district opened the Peak Innovation Center, a career and technical education facility open at no cost to FSPS students and those from partner districts, offering programs in advanced manufacturing, health sciences, and information technology. This represents a substantial expansion of career pathways, though it is a district-wide resource rather than a program housed at Cavanaugh itself. Parents with children in the elementary years may want to ask how the school helps students build foundational skills that connect to these later opportunities.

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Academic performance

How students perform on state tests, by grade, set against the district.

Math

Grade 352%

School 52% · District 33% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 19 pts above county median

Grade 458%

School 58% · District 38% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 570%

School 70% · District 34% · ▲ 36 pts above district

▲ 37 pts above state median · ▲ 37 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 345%

School 45% · District 31% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 13 pts above state median · ▲ 17 pts above county median

Grade 454%

School 54% · District 37% · ▲ 17 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 15 pts above county median

Grade 541%

School 41% · District 36% · ▲ 5 pts above district

▲ 8 pts above state median · ▲ 12 pts above county median

Science

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 31% · ▲ 23 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 25 pts above county median

Grade 448%

School 48% · District 33% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 12 pts above state median · ▲ 18 pts above county median

Grade 550%

School 50% · District 30% · ▲ 20 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 22 pts above county median

This schoolFORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT, same grade

Graduation rate (ACGR) reflects the federally published Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate for the most recent year available. We refresh this data annually at the close of each academic year in June. The federal source publishes a banded rate (for example, "90-94%") instead of an exact number for cohorts small enough to risk identifying individual students. The state distribution chart, where shown, plots every school in the state with a published rate or band; schools whose rate is federally suppressed are excluded. Where the federal source publishes a band rather than an exact rate, the school is placed within its band using a stable, ID-derived offset, so its position is consistent across visits.

Proficiency by household income

English language arts

Grade 3Lower-income42%Higher-income67%24 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income24%Higher-income42%18 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income36%Higher-income75%39 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income52%Higher-income53%1 pp gap