BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, a low-enrollment elementary campus in FORT SMITH, Arkansas, operated by FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT, enrolls 297 students, covering grades pre-K through 5. By comparison, Arkansas's public schools average about 418 students each, so BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits 29% below that benchmark.

FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 27 schools in total, collectively educating 14,164 students. BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of those campuses.

For racial and ethnic makeup, BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL logs that 46% of students identify as White, with the remaining enrollment distributed across several groups. The remainder looks like 18% Hispanic, 18% multiracial, 11% Black, 6% Asian. The wider county runs roughly 68% White, putting the school's mix visibly less White than the area baseline.

In terms of school funding signals, On paper, BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has 19 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 15.3:1. The state averages about 16.0:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. An estimated 78% of students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunch, a number frequently used as a low-income enrollment indicator. Set against Sebastian County (around 65%), the school's rate is north of typical.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL sits in the middle band of the BeatsExpectations distribution. Schools with this campus's student mix typically land near 30.2%; this one delivers 32.5%.

In the broader community, the surrounding county (Sebastian County) records that the typical household earns roughly $57,790 per year, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and census figures put the poverty rate at about 11%. BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is one of 44 public schools in Sebastian County (combined enrollment of about 20,239 students).

CAVANAUGH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.4 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Ranking that nearby cluster on reported proficiency puts BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL at 7th of 9; the average score across the group is 39.0%.

Geographically, the school is in a downtown area.

Over the past 7-year window. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL has ticked down 15%, going from 349 students in 2018 to 297 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 59% to 46% across the same window.

On allk12, the feed for BEARD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL typically covers fundraisers, lost-and-found posts, and report-card season. Posting is open to anyone connected to the school.