School Report Cards

The Eureka Springs School District received an overall B in the latest school grades released by the Arkansas Department of Education. Grades for individual schools ranged from an A to a D.

Eureka Springs Elementary School maintained its A grade, with its score rising from 550.63 in the 2024-25 school year to 566.07 for testing administered last spring.

Its score was the highest among 50 schools in the 17 districts served by the Ozarks Unlimited Resources Educational Cooperative, which includes districts in north-central Arkansas.

“Our co-op director notified me yesterday that out of 50 buildings in 17 districts, high schools, middle schools, elementaries, out of all of the ATLAS testing data, our elementary was the highest ranking building in the co-op,” Eureka Springs Superintendent Bryan Pruitt said. “That is awesome for them. I’m just really proud of that and their hard work and dedication and accomplishment there.”

State testing results placed the elementary school in the “far above” category for meeting grade-level standards and growth among low-performing students.

It was in the “above” category for growth among all students.

The school performed well in English-language arts and science and placed among the top 15 percent of elementary schools statewide. It also received recognition for ranking among the top 10 percent statewide in overall academic achievement, English-language arts and science.

The elementary school also was recognized as an Arkansas GEM School.

“The Arkansas GEM School recognition celebrates outstanding results for students and recognizes schools that are leading the way in academic achievement, academic growth, and sustained improvement,” the district wrote in an email about the results. “This recognition further highlights the strong academic foundation being established for Eureka Springs students at the elementary level.”

Eureka Springs High School received a B with a score of 503.41, down from an A and a score of 543.66 in 2024-25.

Pruitt said the decline concerned him. The district also pointed to the high school’s 93 percent four-year graduation rate, which exceeds the state average, and strong student growth scores in science.

Pruitt said his greatest concern was Eureka Springs Middle School’s drop from a C and a score of 416.28 in 2024- 25 to a D and a score of 365.40.

“My first reaction was surprise, then disappointment,” Pruitt said of the middle school’s score drop. “I knew that we probably had some weak spots in our middle school, and there were some things that we needed to address. I was surprised.

“I really didn’t know how to act or what to say because I’ve never been involved with a school that had a D.

We’ve always been stronger than that. But, it’s a new challenge for us and it gives us an opportunity to go back and refocus and recalibrate what we’re doing.”

The district has recently made staffing changes at the middle school and is adding support for students who need extra help.

“Following staff turnover, Eureka Springs Middle School is capitalizing on fresh talent and revised scheduling to strengthen instructional delivery,” the district wrote in an email announcing the state results. “Key structural additions include targeted Response to Intervention processes designed to address individual learning gaps before they widen.”

Pruitt said the results have highlighted the need for improvement.

“Hopefully, we have a buy-in now with everybody about how serious it is that we teach Arkansas standards …,” he said. “… We have great kids there, and have the greatest resources available, so we’ve got to tie that together and get everybody on a buy-in and get everybody on the same page so we can turn that thing around.

“Does it happen overnight? No, it doesn’t.

But, we’ve already started. We’re already doing our first interim assessment and we’re already way above state average on our first assessment.”

The district said it is working to align instruction across its middle and high schools.

“By realigning academic systems and standards across the middle and high schools, district leadership aims to build seamless learning continuity, boost student growth trajectories, and elevate performance across all grade levels in the coming academic year,” the district said in its email. “The district is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of its students and staff while remaining focused on continued growth and improvement across every campus.”