From left to right: Stephanie Orman, mayor of Bentonville; Willie Cowgur, school board member; Debbie Jones, superintendent of Bentonville Schools; and Tim Sparacino, principal of Washington Junior High School.
Washington Junior High will adopt the globally focused International Baccalaureate (IB) curriculum starting next school year.
Key to the program is a yearly foreign language requirement for all students.
Another requirement is instruction in “design,” coursework intended to help students identify problems and develop practical solutions. According to the IB website, this requirement can be met through digital or product design lessons. A district spokesperson said students will learn these principles through science, arts, and technology courses.
The program encourages teaching across subjects, and students will also complete a service project. There are schools using the IB curriculum on every continent except Antarctica.
At a ceremony Tuesday announcing the change, Principal Tim Sparacino said it will help students “open their minds to more global concepts and inspire them to serve the community.”
Washington Junior is the first junior high in the district to become a “Parent Choice School.” These schools remain neighborhood schools with their own attendance boundaries but add a specific focus area alongside core classes to attract more students.
Four elementary schools have adopted different focus areas under the program, and the International School at Mary Mae Jones, which uses the IB curriculum, has attracted the most opt-in enrollment so far. Ruth Barker Middle School, the only Parent Choice School at the middle school level, also uses the IB curriculum.
In addition to offering more education options, Parent Choice Schools are designed to help rebalance enrollment across the district. They’re all located in the downtown area, where student numbers have been declining.
The school district’s boundaries include Bentonville, most of Centerton and Bella Vista, and parts of Rogers, Highfill, Cave Springs, and Little Flock.
Overall district enrollment continues to rise, with student population growth concentrated at the edges of the district as families seek more affordable housing. Schools farther out are full or nearing capacity, while downtown schools have room to spare.
The district’s five-year facilities plan shows a need for more high school (grades 9–12) and middle school (grades 5–6) space within the next five years, but leaders say rebalancing enrollment through Parent Choice Schools and possible attendance zone changes should delay the need for new elementary (K–4) and junior high (grades 7–8) buildings.
