[imaybemovin]

Due to a new job (yeah!) my family is relocating to AR. My main question is:

Where are the best public schools - middle and high?
Since we can go anywhere... where to go?

Thanks!

[bchris02]

Amazing how 99.9% of people outside of Arkansas assume the abbreviation is AK.

[Dr. Foosball]

AR = Arkansas. AK =Alaska. AZ =Arizona.

What part of the state are you moving to? If you can go anywhere, I would suggest the northwest corner: Fayetteville, Bentonville, etc. THey have good schools up there. Everywhere else is hit or miss (mostly miss).

[PurpleLove08]

^^Thank you for pointing out that the abbreviation for Arkansas is AR, not AK which is for Alaska. I wish I had a smiley that shook its head.

You'll get a wide variety of answers because some people think their part of the state is a bag of chips and then some.

What kind of lifestyle are you wanting? Active? Urban? Country?
Do you plan to do a lot of shopping?
How far do you want to drive for groceries?

I think we'll need a bit more to go on.....

What is a good school to you?
Do you plan to be active in the school or do you plan on the teachers teaching your child everything? To me it doesn't really matter where the kid goes to school as long as the parents are active and plan to take on some responsibility for their childs education. Its one thing if they're mentally challenged or a special needs child but the high school I went to wasn't on the Top 100 high school list but I received a world class education with the IB program and it prepared me well for college. My teachers cared a lot about me and I felt like I was learning a lot.

Is an emphasis on math and science important or are you wanting your child to be more knowledgeable in foreign languages? Different schools have different strengths.

Are you wanting an IB program, the AP program or does that even matter?

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by bchris02

Amazing how 99.9% of people outside of Arkansas assume the abbreviation is AK.

And they say the schools in AR are bad.................

Maybe we should put up a sticky: Arkansas is AR. Alaska is AK.

[Dr. Foosball]

meh. It is an honest mistake. A lot of people also see AR and think "Arizona." We are only more aware because we live here.

[imaybemovin]

Yikes ~ I was typing so fast that I didn't even catch the AK, AR -- SORRY! I know my state abbreviations! Although I don't know much about AR.

We can move anywhere, but I would want to be near a big town. I've heard good things about Little Rock.. but would probably want to live out of town. I've heard good and bad about the NW corner... where would be a good place there?

Schools -- I'm definitely involved in my childrens education but want the best I can give them when they walk out my door. Their school now has an excellent IB program. I'm looking for a school that can prove good test scores and high graduation rates.

I want to be close to activities... lakes, hiking, etc. Hopefully this will be our last move for a long time!

[Dr. Foosball]

I can't speak for central Arkansas, so someone else can chime in about Little Rock and the area surrounding it. I can only speak for the River Valley and NW Arkansas. I live in Fort Smith and it is ok, but if you have the choice to live anywhere, I wouldn't suggest Fort Smith.

NW Arkansas has the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville (only about 14K students, but the biggest in the state). NW Arkansas also has some big businesses: Tyson home office, Walmart home office, JB Hunt home office. You could get a nice brand-new house for a steal in NW Arkansas because they kept building when the housing bubble busted and many are being sold by the banks.

It is a really nice area and also has great lakes. Just check out the area on Google Earth.

None of the cities in NW Arkansas are as big as Little Rock, but when you combine Fayetteville, Springdale, Bentonville, and Rogers, they have about 300,000 people compared to Little Rock's 200,000. It also has much less crime compared to Little Rock's crime rate that is almost 3 times the national average.

[PurpleLove08]

Originally Posted by imaybemovin

Yikes ~ I was typing so fast that I didn't even catch the AK, AR -- SORRY! I know my state abbreviations! Although I don't know much about AR.

We can move anywhere, but I would want to be near a big town. I've heard good things about Little Rock.. but would probably want to live out of town. I've heard good and bad about the NW corner... where would be a good place there?

Schools -- I'm definitely involved in my childrens education but want the best I can give them when they walk out my door. Their school now has an excellent IB program. I'm looking for a school that can prove good test scores and high graduation rates.

I want to be close to activities... lakes, hiking, etc. Hopefully this will be our last move for a long time!

I would say North Little Rock or Fayetville will be good options.
I recommend North Little Rock because their school district has the IB program and its a pretty small program but the teachers are very dedicated. I have first hand experience since I went through the IB program. The only downside to the NLR IB program is that your children probably wouldn't have a lot of options in terms of class options. Since so few children are involved in the IB program, there are less class choices.

I hear a lot of good things about the Fayettville school district.

I think being in NW Arkansas you'll have more access to lakes, hiking, etc. I remember doing a search of hiking and nature things and found a lot of things to be in the NW part of the state. If I didn't hate driving so much, I'd make a drive up there to do those sorts of things but...eh.

I hope you find a place that works for you and keep us updated.

[imaybemovin]

What can anyone tell me about Maumelle? I like what I read about it, then I see there is no HighSchool there.