Every School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas campus is a tuition-free public charter school. Each school is funded by the state and there is no tuition.
Like students at any public school, students at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas may incur expenses for field trips, extracurricular activities, or after-school care.
Yes, financial aid is available for assistance with school fees. Please contact your School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas administrative team to learn more about the process of obtaining financial aid.
The typical classroom at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas has 25-28 students in core classes, with slightly more or slightly fewer students for some elective courses.
Students at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas will have regular homework that is intended to be meaningful, to reinforce lessons learned during the day, and to prepare for upcoming seminars.
Extracurricular offerings vary yearly based on student interest, and we actively encourage students to find peers who share interests and start new clubs, even as the school year progresses.
We offer a full range of extracurriculars: from Academic Decathlon and Astronomy Club to Quiz Bowl and Yearbook; from Journalism Club to Mock Trial; from e-sports to any ball, bat, and common sports; from Magic the Gathering to MATHCOUNTS; from Minecraft Club and Physics Olympiad to FIRST Robotics Competition team and FIRST LEGO Robotics Competition; from Speech & Debate to Track & Field; from Basketball to Model UN, and from Brain Bee and Competitive Chess to Code Ninjas and Mountain Biking in the Arkansas National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas teachers hold bachelor’s degrees, at minimum, and many have a master’s degree or Ph.D. in the subject they teach. When first hired, our teachers must attend summer training where they learn about our curriculum and systems and review classroom management techniques and pedagogical tenets used in our network. Then, each school year (during the summer and the school year), they participate in additional training and workshops to further hone their skills.
The experienced educators and administrators at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas have vetted and hired excellent teachers for many years. Our hiring process is stringent, and we treat teachers as the true professionals they are. We also have contacts and partners at top colleges and universities to help us recruit top talent for teaching roles in STEM subjects, humanities, and the arts. Finally, the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas offers our teachers competitive pay and excellent benefits packages.
Visit Apply Now to review enrollment policies and to submit an application. You will need to complete an online application for each child you would like to enroll.
Any student in the state of Arkansas who is in grades 5-12 can apply! The School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas is a public charter school, so there is no barrier to entry, and students need not take any exams or “test in” to be admitted.
All applications must be submitted through the online enrollment portal at schoolforadvancedstudies.com/admissions. Applicants offered enrollment at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas will be provided with instructions for accepting the offer and submitting the required registration packet.
At the end of the open enrollment period, if the number of applications does not exceed capacity, all applicants will receive offers of enrollment. If applications exceed capacity, in any grade, the School will conduct a lottery to determine enrollment. Anyone not enrolled through the lottery will be placed on a waitlist.
If a student receives an enrollment offer, that student’s sibling(s) will be granted Sibling Priority. (The Sibling Priority enrollment offer occurs when registration material for the admitted student is submitted to the school.) Sibling Priority does not guarantee a sibling a seat, but it does improve the sibling’s placement on the waitlist and increases the chance of receiving an enrollment offer. In addition, please be sure to add siblings to each other’s applications.
We understand that managing multiple schedules and schools in a household can be challenging. That’s why this part of our enrollment policy is intended to help families ensure that their students can attend the same school if they choose.
Finally, Arkansas education laws allow an enrollment preference for children of founding members and children of full-time teachers and staff. It also allows for an enrollment preference for siblings of enrolled students, our policy for which is outlined above.
There are many variables involved, so we cannot accurately predict chances of enrollment. Much depends on the decisions of other parents and the availability of seats at a particular campus, in a particular grade. Offers are made throughout the spring, summer, and even into the next school year. Our teams work diligently to ensure that anytime a seat becomes available, an offer is made to the next student in line.
Each School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas campus takes a firm stance against bullying and implements consequences on a progressive basis, which may include exclusionary discipline up to and including potential expulsion.
The School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas provides Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE) to disabled students in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), in accordance with all applicable laws and implementation regulations of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). If you have specific questions about Special Education at the School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas campus, please contact the Special Education Coordinator at your school, and they will be happy to assist you.
The School for Advanced Studies Northwest Arkansas has support services and personnel in place to help students succeed at their highest level. These supports include a licensed School Counselor to ensure the students’ academic and social-emotional needs are met, a fully equipped library and Librarian to support students with research, and daily after school “office hours” for students to get additional personalized help from their teachers.
Thank you for your interest in our future campuses. We plan on growing the network of high-achieving Schools for Advanced Studies in Northwest Arkansas and throughout the state. At this point, we have not finalized specific locations for our future campuses, but keep checking our websites and sign up on our Interest List to stay up to date on news and announcements.
