Sutton Elementary School, Fort Smith AR

Original Research by School Decision on Sutton Elementary School

Sutton Elementary School is a public PK through grade 5 school in Fort Smith, Arkansas, part of the Fort Smith School District. It serves a student body that is moderate in size for its grade band and draws from the surrounding neighborhood. A very high share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic circumstances of many families in the area. The student population is predominantly Hispanic, with notable shares of White students, students identifying as two or more races, Black students, and Asian students.

State testing results for the 2024-25 school year, using Arkansas’s ATLAS assessment, show that proficiency rates across tested grades and subjects are low. In math, third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade proficiency rates are each below a quarter of students tested. In English language arts, rates are slightly higher but still under a third across all three grades. Science proficiency rates are also low, with a downward trend from third to fifth grade. Across all tested subjects and grades combined, the school’s overall proficiency index falls in the bottom quartile relative to districts in Sebastian County. A parent may want to ask the school about its academic support strategies and how it works to raise these outcomes.

Because Sutton Elementary serves only early and elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report, and chronic absenteeism data was not available for this school. Information on special populations such as students with IEPs and English learners was also missing from the data provided.

Fort Smith is a regional hub for manufacturing, healthcare, and logistics, with major employers including Mercy-Fort Smith, Fort Smith Public Schools itself, ArcBest, and several manufacturing plants. The city is car-dependent and suburban in character, with downtown historic sites, the University of Arkansas at Fort Smith, and the Fort Smith National Historic Site as key anchors. Population growth has been modest in recent years, and the housing market shows home values that are below both the state and national benchmarks. Rents are relatively affordable compared to national averages.

The Fort Smith School District has seen notable changes in recent years. In 2021, voters approved a property tax increase to fund teacher salaries, technology, and facility improvements. A subsequent school board decision in 2023 lowered the millage rate, easing the property tax burden on residents while maintaining district operations. In 2022, the district opened the Peak Innovation Center, a career and technical education facility available to FSPS students at no cost. While Sutton Elementary students are years away from accessing that center, it signals a district-level investment in career pathways that will be available when they reach high school.

A family considering Sutton Elementary should weigh the school’s high-poverty context and low academic proficiency numbers against what the school offers in terms of early-grade programming and its place within a district that has invested in facilities and career training. The school’s exact programmatic offerings were not included in the available data, so a direct conversation with the school about its curriculum, enrichment, and support for students is advisable.

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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 · ▼ 16 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 38% · ▼ 17 pts below district

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

Grade 517%

School 17% · District 34% · ▼ 17 pts below district

▼ 16 pts below state median · ▼ 16 pts below county median

English language arts

Grade 326%

School 26% · District 31% · ▼ 5 pts below district

▼ 7 pts below state median · ▼ 2 pts below county median

Grade 421%

School 21% · District 37% · ▼ 16 pts below district

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

Grade 519%

School 19% · District 36% · ▼ 18 pts below district

▼ 15 pts below state median · ▼ 11 pts below county median

Science

Grade 323%

School 23% · District 31% · ▼ 8 pts below district

▼ 13 pts below state median · ▼ 7 pts below county median

Grade 415%

School 15% · District 33% · ▼ 18 pts below district

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

Grade 510%

School 10% · District 30% · ▼ 19 pts below district

▼ 23 pts below state median · ▼ 18 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.