FAYETTEVILLE -- Two gifts totaling $13 million will allow The New School in Fayetteville to add a high school, school officials announced Friday to staff and parents.
The expansion into high school begins in the fall with the addition freshmen, said Dennis Chapman, president and head of school. The New School will need more space with the addition of sophomores in 2017-18.
The New School
• Founded in 1971 as a nonprofit for 24 children ages 2 to 6
• Permanent home built for the school in 1980 with a preschool built for 100 children
• Expanded into elementary grades in 1990s
• Third through seventh grades added in 2000
• Now a school of 360 children from preschool to eighth grade
Source: The New School
The announcement marked the start of The New School Forever Campaign, kicked off with a $10 million pledge from the J.B. Hunt family and a $3 million pledge from Todd Simmons, CEO of Simmons Foods in Siloam Springs, and his wife, Shelley Simmons.
The late J.B. Hunt and his wife, Johnelle, founded J.B. Hunt Transport Servies in Lowell.
"We've had grandchildren enrolled in the New School for almost 29 years, and it's been so beneficial to their education and development," Johnelle Hunt said in a news release from the school. "I'm thrilled to be part of giving back and paying it forward so that same opportunity can be available for many others in the future."
The New School is a private school for 360 children from preschool to eighth grade on a 25-acre campus at 2514 New School Drive, northwest of Township Street and College Avenue in Fayetteville.
Staff members knew a committee was studying the possibility of adding a high school, but Friday's announcement was a surprise, sixth-grade teacher Allison Dolan said. Dolan, who has 2- and 5-year-old sons at The New School, joined the staff this school year after 10 years of teaching at Springdale High School.
Teachers were excited and had lots of questions about what happens next, Dolan said.
"It's going to have such a great impact on our current students as well as the community of Northwest Arkansas," Dolan said.
More details will be shared at a meeting at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 2, including a master plan, timeline and plans for staffing, Chapman said. Chapman continues to work through financial details and on defining the scope of the project.
The master plan outlines four phases of changes for the campus, Chapman said. The first phase, which is expected to open in the 2017-18 school year, would provide a new academic facility for up to 180 students in the seventh through 12th grade.
An 11-member Upper School Exploratory Task Force spent six months evaluating the viability and sustainability of adding the high school gardes, Chapman said. The committee on Dec. 10 recommended the plan to the board.
The board met Dec. 17 and asked about whether the school could afford such a project. The board asked Chapman to secure some lead gifts. Chapman told the board Thursday about the pledges from the Hunt and Simmons families.
The board on Thursday approved the addition of high school grades, Chapman said.
The fundraising campaign will support the new academic facility, as well as new athletic facilities, expansion of dining, science and innovation labs and an endowment to support financial aid and academic programs, Chapman said.
Chapman is in his second year as head of school. The New School in 2014 opened an 46,000-square-foot expansion that grew the campus to 92,000 square feet of building space. The addition included a new preschool, administration building and a 350-seat auditorium, according to The New School's website.
The New School approach is designed around students, Chapman said. Classes provide for hands-on learning and learning through projects.
"We're preparing our students currently for jobs that don't exist today," he said. "That requires a different approach to education."
Board President Edward Prewitt has heard comments from parents over the years who wished their children could stay past middle school. Prewitt has an 8-year-old son who started going to The New School when he was 2.
Prewitt likes the approach to education and the way his child has grown to love learning, he said.
"We have the opportunity for him to continue that through high school," Prewitt said. "It's a very exciting time for the future of the school."
Adding a high school is important for maintaining the thriving middle and elementary school that already exist, Todd and Shelley Simmons said in the news release.
"Not only do we believe this is the right thing to do for our kids, but it is also the right thing for The New School's future and our community," they said.
NW News on 01/23/2016