CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL is one of the low-enrollment secondary schools in NEWARK, Arkansas, overseen by CEDAR RIDGE SCHOOL DISTRICT, with 373 students on its rolls from grades 6 through 12. That puts it 27% smaller than the typical public school in Arkansas, which averages around 510 students.

Across the 2 schools in CEDAR RIDGE SCHOOL DISTRICT (636 students total), CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL accounts for its share of the district's footprint.

In terms of who attends, CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL logs that the student body is overwhelmingly White (91%). The remainder comes out to 5% Hispanic.

On the resource side, On paper, CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL has 74 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 5.0:1. That figure is tighter than the state norm's 8.8:1 average. Roughly 99% of students at CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is above Independence County's rate of about 66%.

After controlling for student poverty, CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 22.6% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 29.3%.

Around the school, the surrounding county (Independence County) reports that median household earnings sit near $56,609, about 18% of the adult population holds a bachelor's degree or above, and the poverty rate sits near 14%. Across Independence County's 14 public schools (combined enrollment of about 6,855 students), CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL is one campus in the mix.

Nearest neighbor: CEDAR RIDGE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, around 0.4 miles off. Counting just inside five miles, 2 other public schools cluster around CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL. Among the 9 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL ranks 7th on composite proficiency, below the local average of 34.8%.

The school occupies a rural site.

Five-year trend. CEDAR RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL's enrollment has edged down 10% since 2018, when it stood at 413 (now 373). Class-load math has narrowed: from 11.6:1 in 2018 to 5.0:1 in 2025.

On the community side, recent activity here tends to focus on classroom updates, athletics, and weather closures. Members of the school community can share what they know.