Haas Hall Academy ranked No. 1 school in Arkansas

Haas Hall Academy is again at the top of the list in education.

For the sixth straight year, the Fayetteville-based charter high school was recently ranked No. 1 among public high schools in Arkansas by U.S. News & World Report. Haas Hall Academy is the only gold medal school in the state for the 3rd year in a row.

The accomplishments don’t end there. Haas Hall was ranked 19th among the best 2,000 public high schools in the nation by Newsweek. It also was ranked by The Washington Post as one of America’s most challenging schools, placing in the top 1 percent for the fourth year in a row.

“It’s validation of our accelerated academic programs, outstanding highly qualified faculty and engaged scholars,” said Dr. Martin W. Schoppmeyer Jr., founder and superintendent of Haas Hall Academy.

The school has a 100 percent graduation rate and a 100 percent college acceptance rate, which Schoppmeyer attributes both to the scholars and to the way the school operates.

Outside of the academic rankings, Haas Hall Academy has many other impressive accomplishments. It has won the 3A state quiz bowl championship for the sixth time. The FIRST Robotics team was invited to compete at the World Championship for the third consecutive year. The school’s Model UN and Model Arab League has earned over 125 awards. The school newspaper, Haas Hall Herald, was the recipient of the state’s top award at the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association Conference for the fourth consecutive year. Haas Hall Herald was inducted into the Arkansas Scholastic Press Association’s Hall of Fame in 2016.

The school’s self-supported sports teams — cross country, track, golf, tennis, basketball, bowling, diving, and swimming — have won four state championships, have had three Division 1 athletes and have earned seven scholar athlete scholarships. Haas Hall Academy does not use state funding to support its athletic programs.

Haas Hall Academy began in Farmington in 2004 and moved to Fayetteville in 2009. It was founded to provide a college-preparatory public option for scholars in Northwest Arkansas. Scholars, as Schoppmeyer calls them, come from all over the region and from various backgrounds. About 10 percent of Haas Hall Academy’s scholars were previously home schooled, and the rest have come from 19 school districts and six private schools, Schoppmeyer said.

“The scholars who choose to attend know that this school is an accelerated, college-preparatory institution where they will be challenged based on their academic ability, not limited to exposure of material by grade level,” Schoppmeyer said.

Haas Hall Academy operates on a semester basis rather than a calendar year, much like most colleges. Scholars take the standard core courses, but they also have options that might not be available in other public high schools, such as engineering and advanced science, mathematics, arts and humanities courses. They can even take college courses off campus. All of this gives our scholars a feel for college life and how they can succeed at the college level.

“The transition from high school to college is seamless for Haas Hall Academy graduates,” Schoppmeyer said.

Haas Hall Academy serves grades 7 through 12. Parents must apply online for their children to attend the school. Each applicant is assigned a number that is randomly and anonymously selected during the annual lottery drawing. The drawing determines which applicants are offered a seat at the school the following year.

Haas Hall Academy opened its second campus in Bentonville in the fall of 2015. It will open two additional campuses in fall 2017. The Springdale campus is housed in The Jones Center and the Rogers campus is housed in the newly renovated historic Lane Hotel in downtown Rogers.

“Demand for our accelerated, college-curriculum increases daily,” said Schoppmeyer.

Additional information may be found online at www.haashall.org or by calling (479) 966.4930.