Jim D Rollins Elementary School of Innovation, Springdale AR

Original Research by School Decision on Jim D Rollins Elementary School of Innovation

Jim D. Rollins Elementary School of Innovation is an elementary school in Springdale serving kindergarten through fifth grade. It is part of the Springdale School District, the largest district in Arkansas. The school’s name, including “Innovation,” signals an emphasis within a district that operates many campuses across a fast-growing city.

Springdale is a city with a strong industrial and manufacturing base, often called the Poultry Capital of the World, with major employers including Tyson Foods, Cargill, and George’s. The city also hosts manufacturers like Ball Corporation and Pratt & Whitney. Its downtown area along Emma Avenue contains cultural venues like the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History and the Arts Center of the Ozarks, as well as Arvest Ballpark, home of a minor league baseball team. The city has grown rapidly in recent years, including the annexation of Bethel Heights in 2020. The Springdale district operates a large number of campuses spread across the city, and school facilities tend to be on their own sites rather than integrated into a single campus.

The school’s student body is diverse. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch. The largest racial or ethnic group is white students, who make up a clear majority, followed by Hispanic students, then a smaller share of students who identify as two or more races. There are also small populations of students who are Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, American Indian or Alaska Native, Black, and Asian. Data on students with disabilities and English learners was not available in the source material; a parent may wish to ask the school about the supports available for these groups.

On state assessments, which in Arkansas are called the ATLAS, the school’s overall proficiency across tested subjects and grades places it above the midpoint among the districts in Washington County. This is a measure that averages performance across math, English language arts, and science. Looking at individual subjects and grade levels provides a more detailed picture. In math, the share of students scoring proficient or above decreased slightly from third to fourth grade and more noticeably from fourth to fifth grade. In English language arts, the pattern was similar, with the highest proficiency rate in third grade and a noticeable decline by fifth grade. In science, proficiency rates held fairly steady across the three tested grades. A parent reviewing these patterns may want to ask the school how it supports students in maintaining achievement as they move through the upper elementary grades, particularly in math and reading.

Because the school serves only elementary grades, there is no graduation rate to report. No data on chronic absenteeism was available, and no information was provided about discipline rates, course access, or staffing ratios. The school’s charter status is not active, and its Title I status was not provided in the data.

The area’s housing market reflects the broader growth of Springdale. Home values and rents place this part of the city in a context where the cost of buying a home is above the Arkansas state median but roughly on par with the national median. Rents are modest relative to mortgage costs, which may make renting a more attainable option for some families.

The district brief turned up no publicly reported recent changes such as boundary adjustments, new programs, or leadership turnover that would immediately affect Rollins. The school sits on the east side of Springdale on Fletcher Avenue, in a location that is convenient to the industrial and commercial corridors that define much of the city’s employment base.

This is a school where a family who values a standard elementary experience within a large, established district will find a student body that is majority white with a notable Hispanic minority and a moderate level of economic diversity. The proficiency numbers are mixed, with science the stronger subject and math and English showing a dip in the upper grades. A parent may want to understand how the school addresses that trend before enrollment.

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Academic performance

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

Math

Grade 355%

School 55% · District 34% · ▲ 22 pts above district

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

Grade 455%

School 55% · District 40% · ▲ 15 pts above district

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 10 pts above county median

Grade 548%

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

▲ 15 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

English language arts

Grade 350%

School 50% · District 32% · ▲ 19 pts above district

▲ 17 pts above state median · ▲ 11 pts above county median

Grade 442%

School 42% · District 38% · ▲ 4 pts above district

▲ 5 pts above state median · even with county median

Grade 539%

School 39% · District 33% · ▲ 6 pts above district

▲ 6 pts above state median · ▲ 7 pts above county median

Science

Grade 354%

School 54% · District 32% · ▲ 22 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 452%

School 52% · District 32% · ▲ 21 pts above district

▲ 16 pts above state median · ▲ 9 pts above county median

Grade 551%

School 51% · District 28% · ▲ 24 pts above district

▲ 18 pts above state median · ▲ 21 pts above county median

This schoolSPRINGDALE 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-income14%Higher-income46%32 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income13%Higher-income28%15 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income45%Higher-income60%15 pp gap

Mathematics

Grade 3Lower-income26%Higher-income59%34 pp gap

Grade 4Lower-income30%Higher-income54%24 pp gap

Grade 5Lower-income35%Higher-income54%19 pp gap