Despite grade, Sutton expects no student loss

FORT SMITH — Sutton Elementary School was the only school in the River Valley to receive an F grade in 2022, which qualifies all of its students to receive school vouchers under the LEARNS Act.

The 2023-24 school year will be the first phase of the Educational Freedom Accounts program under LEARNS.

It includes students who were or are in foster care, have experienced homelessness, have a disability, have an active-duty military parent, are participating in the Succeed Scholarship Program, are enrolled in kindergarten or attended an F-rated school the previous year.

School grades are calculated by assessing test scores, student growth in test scores and student attendance. Sutton received an F for the 2021-22 school year, making its students eligible for the first round of vouchers.

Vouchers take 90% of the state funding public schools receive per student and give it to students to attend a private school. The per-student funding for the 2022-23 school year was $7,413.

Sutton Elementary had 430 students in 2022-23.

Tiffany Bone, Fort Smith’s assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said no parents have requested for their children to leave Sutton Elementary under the LEARNS Act.

“The district realizes that everyone has a choice,” Bone said in an email Aug. 8. “We believe that by making continuous improvements to our instruction, investing in our students and staff, we can reach our goals of student achievement, retention and attraction.”

Kimberly Mundell, director of communications for the Arkansas Department of Education, said parents are encouraged to notify the school if they plan to leave, but it is not a requirement.

“Typically, once a student is accepted into a private school or another school, the school will request records,” Mundell said, “which serves as notice of nonattendance” for the sending school.