Private school Waltons’ aim in Bentonville
Foundation developing it
BENTONVILLE — The Walton Family Foundation announced Thursday that it is developing a plan for a private school that will serve students at the middle and high school levels.
Off icials chose Clayton Marsh, whose title at Prince ton University is deputy dean of the college, as the first head of the school, which will be in Bentonville. Marsh’s selection came after a national search, and he will assume his new position in January, according to a news release from the foundation.
Marsh will lead all aspects of the Bentonville private school’s development, including curriculum and infrastructure, the news release stated.
Details about the school — including its name, opening date, location and specific grades it will offer — have not been decided, said Luis Gonzalez, a senior communications officer for the foundation. More information will come next spring after Marsh starts work, Gonzalez said.
The school will be a 501( c) 3 nonprofit organization and be governed by a board of trustees. It will offer “a challenging curriculum, small classes, a diverse student body and distinctive architecture,” according to the news release.
The school will charge tuition, Gonzalez said.
A foundation study showed 68 percent of Bentonville residents polled would support an indepen-
dent school in Northwest Arkansas, and a similar level of support exists across the region’s other school districts, the news release stated.
The study was part of a strategic plan the foundation announced last year for its home region, defined as Northwest Arkansas and the Delta regions of Arkansas and Mississippi. That plan included creating a “world- class system” of pre-kindergarten- through-12th- grade schools, according to Karen Minkel, the foundation’s home region program director.
“Our planning process helped us assess the current level of accessibility for parents and students to high- performing charter schools and traditional public schools,” Minkel stated in the news release. “Our assessment also revealed that an independent school would add to the range of quality options available.”
Minkel was not available for additional comment Thursday, Gonzalez said.
Educational options have increased in recent years in Benton County. Charter schools such as the Arkansas Arts Academy in Rogers and the Northwest Arkansas Classical Academy in Bentonville enroll more than 1,000 students combined. Haas Hall Academy, a Fayetteville charter school, is expanding to Bentonville this fall with a facility. U. S. News & World Report ranks Haas Hall as the best high school in Arkansas.
Charter schools are public schools that operate with freedom from many of the regulations that apply to traditional public schools.
The Walton Family Foundation has been an enthusiastic supporter of charter schools; an example of that support was its recent $ 500,000 grant to Haas Hall to support the expansion into Bentonville.
Northwest Arkansas has some private schools, most of which are backed by a church or are otherwise religious in nature.
Dana Davis, president and chief executive officer of the Bentonville/ Bella Vista Chamber of Commerce, said the quality and variety of educational options in an area affect its quality of life.
“We have excellent schools in Bentonville, and that’s one of the things that allows us to attract talent to come here,” Davis said. “But at the same time, anytime you give families quality choices, that enhances the opportunity to attract families here. Giving school choices is always something that’s positive.”
Janie Darr, superintendent of the Rogers School District, said education is a competitive field and the district doesn’t necessarily get every child who moves into Rogers. She wasn’t certain how much the new school will affect the district.
“I don’t know if we have many parents who will want to or be willing to pay tuition,” Darr said. “We probably have some parents now who are sending their kids away to a prep school. But we always want to be competitive to offer the best education possible. We’re going to have to work harder in some areas than we have before.”
The district must meet the needs of students with a wide range of academic abilities, Darr said. Darr hopes to meet Marsh and “bounce ideas off of him” on ways the district can help its brightest students, she said.
Robert Maranto, a professor
of education policy at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, said some people heading to Northwest Arkansas from other states and overseas are accustomed to the kind of private school the foundation is starting. He wasn’t surprised to hear the foundation had hired someone like Marsh.
“I think part of what [ the foundation] is going for is getting somebody who has experience in other places,” Maranto said. “If you want your college- bound kids to have options, it helps to have people at the school who have experience in those options.”
Marsh, a native of Kansas City, Mo., holds a doctorate in English and comparative literature from Columbia University and a law degree from the University of Michigan. He worked as an English teacher and football and wrestling coach at The Lawrenceville School, a private school in Lawrenceville, N. J.,
for eight years.
At Princeton, some of his primary responsibilities are described as working with academic departments to develop new courses and programs, leading efforts to enhance the liberal arts curriculum, and encouraging innovation in teaching. He also teaches courses at Princeton.
Marsh did not return an email message seeking comment Thursday. The foundation’s news release, however, quoted him as saying he is honored to get to create a new school in this part of the country.
“And the conditions in Northwest Arkansas could not be better — a welcoming and dynamic community, a readiness for innovation in education, and, of course, the inspiring beauty of the Ozarks,” Marsh stated in the news release.