Springdale Schools expands as Northwest Arkansas grows

SPRINGDALE, ARK. (KNWA/KFTA) — Springdale recently updated George Elementary and added new buildings at Central Junior High and Southwest Junior High.

Both projects have been in the works for years and the school’s doors opened this morning for the next generation of students.

“Even when I was younger, you drove out of Fayetteville. You’d drive through pastureland before you got to Fayetteville, the same thing from Springdale to Rogers. So obviously, you can see the growth everywhere,” said Stroud.

Jeff Stroud was born and raised in Springdale, went to Springdale schools, and now has a sixth-grade grandson. “I have watched the Springdale School District grow over the years. With people moving in, you’ve got to provide more schools for them, so that’s just inevitable when the population’s growing,” said Stroud.

To support growth, Springdale School District constructed new buildings for several schools, and a few of them opened up Monday morning.

Trent Jones is the director of communications for Springdale Public Schools. “It’s great. This is always the best day of the year when our young people come back through the doors and they’re full of hope and excitement. A little bit of anxiety, but they’re ready to build new friends, learn new content, start the path of this great year that they’re going to have,” Jones said. “Superintendent Jared Cleveland wants to invest in education and the community. Seeing the growth patterns, and seeing where Springdale is, he made a strategic choice to invest in our community. People are moving into the region. They’re seeing what Northwest Arkansas is. They’re seeing these facilities, they’re learning about the programs that we have and they’re coming back to our communities, and were starting to fill in our schools again.”

Springdale School District has more than 20,000 students this year, and teachers in Springdale have taken on more students than they’re used to. “Every teacher is equipped with tools to help students succeed. Inside of school buildings, things ebb and flow. Some classes get high. Some classes get low, and we work together as an ecosystem to ensure that there’s as much efficient delivery of academic success plans as possible,” said Jones.

Stroud has lived near his old elementary for 35 years, continuing Springdale education through his family. “They have a really good school district, and you know we’ve been going to school here. I actually attended school down the street at Westwood when I lived here a long time ago, and our daughter went there, and my grandson went there. So, you know, really good school district,” said Stroud.

You can find more information on the Springdale Public Schools’ locations right here.

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