ROGERS — Shiloh Christian School officials plan to open a satellite campus in Rogers next year, according to a spokesman.
Next week, representatives from Shiloh Christian are scheduled to appear before the Planning Commission to request a conditional-use permit to operate a private elementary school at 5403-5407 Pinnacle Point Drive.
“This is something we have been looking at for several years,” said Matt Slaughter, director of admissions and relations for the Springdale-based school. The Springdale campus has approximately 894 students in preschool through 12th grade.
Shiloh Christian has operated a bus for students living in Benton County for several years. Opening an elementary school is the next step, Slaughter said.
“We are really excited about opening in Benton County. This will be our first satellite campus. If we can get all the necessary permits and the construction needed to convert the buildings into classrooms we hope to open, on a limited basis, in January,” Slaughter said. The school will open to full enrollment in August.
Shiloh Christian officials don’t know how many students to expect at this point, because there are too many unknowns.
“Once we have a firm opening date and can begin to advertise we’ll have a better idea of what to expect,” Slaughter said.
The Rogers campus will follow the standards set at the main campus.
“We will have fully accredited and degreed teachers at the Rogers school just as we do in Springdale,” Slaughter said.
AT A GLANCE
Satellite Elementary School
Shiloh Christian School plans to open a satellite elementary school in Rogers.
• The school is scheduled to open in January.
• Shiloh Christian opened in Springdale as part of the First Baptist Church in 1976.
• The school was first accredited in 1992.
• Shiloh Christian, which has 894 students from preschool to high school, is accredited by Association of Christian Schools International, Arkansas Nonpublic School Accrediting Association and the North Central Association on Accreditation and School Improvement.
Source: Staff Report
The school also will offer the latest in technology for the students, including notebook computers and interactive white boards.
Tuition at the Rogers school will be higher than in Springdale.
“We will have to charge a little higher tuition because we are leasing the buildings in Rogers. We own all the buildings on our Springdale campus,” Slaughter said.
Elementary tuition at the Springdale campus is $7,000 per year, officials said.
Paul Hines, superintendent of the charter school, Benton County School of the Arts, said he is familiar with the academic reputation of Shiloh Christian School.
A charter school is a public school, funded by the Arkansas Board of Education and open to any student. The Benton County School of the Arts operates a kindergarten through 12th-grade program.
“I support any school that offers parents and students a choice. I applaud Shiloh Christian and hope the school does well,” Hines said.
Hines said he doesn’t think a Shiloh Christian elementary school will hurt enrollment at the charter school.
“We have a waiting list with more than 200 names. We are a public school and Shiloh is a private school. We are not the same,” Hines said.
Janie Darr, superintendent of the Rogers School District, acknowledged some Rogers students have opted to attend Shiloh Christian for years.
“We have students, whose parents, for whatever reason, wanted their children to attend Shiloh Christian, and we don’t have a problem with that,” Darr said. “We are proud of our schools and our teachers, but we understand parents make choices based on what they feel is best for their children.”