HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY

HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY is one of the high-enrollment 6-8 campuss in HOT SPRINGS, Arkansas, part of HOT SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT, with 803 students on its rolls from grades 7 through 9. Enrollment runs roughly 73% above the state mean of about 464.

HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY is one of 6 schools operated by HOT SPRINGS SCHOOL DISTRICT, a district that caters to 3,576 students overall.

On the student-mix side, HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY reports that the largest single group is Black at 35%, but no single group is in the majority; the rest comes out to 30% White, 24% Hispanic, 11% multiracial. That is visibly more Black than the county at large, where the share is closer to 8%.

In terms of school funding signals, Staff filings list 56 full-time-equivalent teachers, which works out to roughly 14.4:1 students per teacher. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 100% of students at HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, which schools and policymakers use as a rough income-mix signal. That share is north of Garland County's rate of about 72%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY tracks the demographic baseline. The model predicts 22.4% given the school's FRL share; actual proficiency is 26.5%.

Across the wider county, ACS estimates for Garland County put the typical household earns roughly $57,181 per year, 25% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and roughly 11% of residents live below the federal poverty line. In all, Garland County runs 28 public schools (combined enrollment of about 14,391 students), of which HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY is one.

HOT SPRINGS WORLD CLASS HIGH SCHOOL is the nearest neighboring public school, about 0.2 miles from this campus. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. On composite proficiency, HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY comes 4th of 8 in the immediate cluster, below the nearby-schools average of 32.3%.

Geographically, the school is in a metropolitan area. HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY operates as a public charter school, meaning it is publicly funded but governed independently of the surrounding district's traditional schools.

Trend over the last 7 years. Looking back 7 years, enrollment at HOT SPRINGS JUNIOR ACADEMY has grew 60%, going from 501 students in 2018 to 803 in 2025. Over the same period, the White share shrank from 40% to 30%. Class-load math has grew: from 11.6:1 in 2018 to 14.4:1 in 2025.

On allk12, posts here usually surface around pickup logistics, teacher feedback, and after-school programs. Parents, students, alumni, and staff are welcome to weigh in.