Bentonville’s Thaden School will add elementary students beginning next fall

Thaden School, an independent school in downtown Bentonville for students in grades 6-12, will expand its program to include grades K-5. The expansion will begin in the fall of 2024 with students in grades K-1.

School officials shared the details in a news release Thursday (Dec. 7).

Thaden uses an indexed tuition model and has more than 320 students enrolled this fall.

“Now that our middle and upper schools are thriving, we are ready to create a lower school that will extend the reach of a Thaden education and enlarge the heart of our growing school community,” founding head of school Clayton Marsh said in the release.

Thaden School, which the Walton Family Foundation supports, was first announced in August 2016. Students in grades 7 and 9 began classes the following year. The campus is at the intersection of Main and 8th at the former Benton County Fairgrounds site.

School officials said alums from its first three graduating classes attend more than 40 colleges in 24 states nationwide.

“Since its opening, Thaden School has provided Northwest Arkansas families with another high-quality option when it comes to educating their students,” said Naccaman Williams, director of special projects for the Walton Family Foundation. “We’re excited to see that continue with the addition of a lower school.”

Thursday’s announcement said Thaden is conducting a national search to identify who will lead the new lower school division.

“We look forward to engaging an educational leader who can create a program that ignites in our youngest Barnstormers the same passion for discovery and learning that shines so brightly in our middle and upper school students,” Marsh said in the release.

School officials said more information about leadership, curriculum, faculty, tuition and infrastructure will be available early in 2024. Applications for admission will be available in the spring.