L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL

As a well-populated intermediate school in FORT SMITH, Arkansas, L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL works with 753 students from grades 6 through 8, overseen by FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT. That puts it 62% above the typical public school in Arkansas, which averages around 464 students.

FORT SMITH SCHOOL DISTRICT runs 27 schools in total, collectively educating 14,164 students. L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL is one of those campuses.

On the student-mix side, L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL reports that the largest single group is White, at 55% of enrollment. Beyond that, the school records 17% Hispanic, 15% multiracial, 7% Asian, 5% Black. That is considerably less White than the county at large, where the share is closer to 68%.

On the income-and-resources front, On paper, L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL has 54 full-time-equivalent teachers, translating to a class-load average of around 13.9:1. The state averages about 13.9:1, putting this campus right in line with peers. Roughly 55% of students at L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, a commonly cited indicator of low-income enrollment. That share is below Sebastian County's rate of about 65%.

On a residual basis (actual vs predicted given the student mix), L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL sits in the top 10% of Arkansas schools after the BeatsExpectations adjustment. Predicted proficiency for the school's FRL share is roughly 38.5%; actual is 55.2%, +16.8 points clear of the demographic baseline.

In the broader community, census data for Sebastian County shows median household income runs about $57,790, 23% of adults hold a bachelor's degree or higher, and the poverty rate sits near 11%. In all, Sebastian County runs 44 public schools (combined enrollment of about 20,239 students), of which L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL is one.

The closest other public school is JOHN P. WOODS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, roughly 0.1 miles away. 8 of the 8 nearest public schools sit inside a five-mile radius. Among the 8 schools in that immediate cluster with test data (this one included), L. A. CHAFFIN MIDDLE SCHOOL ranks 2nd on composite proficiency, above the local average of 38.8%.

Geographically, the school is in a city-core area.

Five-year trend. Over the past 7-year window, the student count fell 5%: 791 students in 2018 compared to 753 in 2025. White enrollment moved from 61% to 55% across the same window.

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