Park Elementary School, Fort Smith AR

Original Research by School Decision on Park Elementary School

Park Elementary School serves students from pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in the Fort Smith School District, located in the city's residential fabric along Park Avenue. The school draws from a neighborhood that sits within a city long defined by manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics. Fort Smith is a regional hub for western Arkansas and eastern Oklahoma, an auto-oriented city where major employers include Mercy–Fort Smith, the school district itself, and plants operated by Rheem, Trane, and others. The area around the school is a mix of older homes and tree-lined streets, with home values and rents settling around the middle of the national range; housing costs have seen modest increases in recent years.

The student body is large enough to fill three to five classes per grade. Demographically, it is a diverse school. More than two-fifths of students identify as Hispanic, roughly a quarter as White, and a smaller proportion as Black. Students who identify as two or more races and Asian students also attend. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, indicating that a large majority of families face economic challenges. Data on English learner status and special education enrollment was not reported, so a parent would want to ask the school directly about those support structures.

On the 2024–25 Arkansas ATLAS assessments, Park Elementary’s proficiency rates were low across all tested grades and subjects. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above was below a third in each of grades three, four, and five. In English language arts, the results were similar: fewer than a third of students at each grade level reached the proficient threshold, with the highest rate in grade four. Science results were also low, with the highest proficiency rate in grade four and lower rates in grades three and five. When compared with other elementary schools within Sebastian County’s school districts, Park Elementary’s overall proficiency index placed in the bottom quartile. A parent researching this school would want to ask about academic interventions, support for students who are behind grade level, and any recent or planned changes to instruction.

Because Park Elementary serves only grades PK through five, there is no graduation rate to report. No chronic absenteeism data, discipline data, or staffing ratios were available in the sources provided. The school is a traditional public school that is not a charter or magnet. Its Title I status was not listed.

The district that operates Park Elementary, Fort Smith Public Schools, has made two notable financial moves in recent years. In 2021 voters approved a property tax increase meant to raise money for teacher salaries, technology, and facility upgrades. Two years later the school board rolled back the millage rate, easing the tax burden while maintaining operations. The district also opened the Peak Innovation Center in 2022, a career and technical education facility that serves older students from Fort Smith and partner districts. That facility does not affect Park Elementary directly, but it signals a district-level investment in career pathways that students can access after elementary school.

Fort Smith itself is a city of modest population growth, built around the Arkansas River and the intersection of two interstates. The downtown historic site and the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith are separate from the school’s immediate neighborhood. For a family considering this school, the key facts are a diverse student body, high poverty concentration, and academic results that are low relative to other schools in the county. A conversation with the principal about reading and math support programs would be a sensible next step.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 317%

School 17% · District 33% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 20 pts below state median · ▼ 17 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 38% · ▼ 11 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 15 pts below county median

Grade 525%

School 25% · District 34% · ▼ 9 pts below district

▼ 8 pts below state median · ▼ 8 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 315%

School 15% · District 31% · ▼ 16 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below county median

Grade 430%

School 30% · District 37% · ▼ 7 pts below district

▼ 6 pts below state median · ▼ 9 pts below county median

Grade 528%

School 28% · District 36% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 5 pts below state median · ▼ 1 pts below county median

Science

Grade 312%

School 12% · District 31% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 24 pts below state median · ▼ 18 pts below county median

Grade 427%

School 27% · District 33% · ▼ 6 pts below district

▼ 9 pts below state median · ▼ 3 pts below county median

Grade 515%

School 15% · District 30% · ▼ 15 pts below district

▼ 18 pts below state median · ▼ 13 pts below 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.