743 S Washington Ave #2
Fayetteville, AR 72701

The AP program is great. Very good teachers on the whole, both in AP and outside, but especially in AP. Very good votech with Mr. Laney and others. He actually puts his own cash in the program and has gotten many kids jobs. Other parts of the school are more mixed. It is very big and bureaucratic, so some kids get lost in the shuffle. Kids are now taking 8 courses, which is just too many, I think to get them through the building fast so it won't be too crowded. The leadership has not handled covid well, starting with the fake temperature checks to start the day as kids enter. It doesn't work and is all for show. Again too many kids are just getting lost and not showing up to anything since covid; many classes have 25% attendance combining online and in person. All that said, the school's teachers are generally solid, a few losers but not many. The kids are nice. Good facility. It is a school where if you want to get a good education, stick mainly with AP classes and you will learn a lot, as least when covid is not happening. Some of the activities are also very good, including drama, litmag, quiz bowl, music, and there is a college level athletic program. Oh, and just having filled things out, there is a very laid back attitude toward cheating, too much so. Some teachers and assistant principals would like to change that, but they get no support. There was a lot of disruption when they went from a school discipline scheme that mostly worked to one where they took away most any punishment. Kids are not stupid and could immediately tell. I think they are rethinking that, and luckily, since the kids are mostly nice, things never went too out of control. Kids feel safe at the school.

My son was sexually assaulted and did not feel safe. I was constantly getting messages about vandalism and threats to the school. They have a cop at the school always which makes it seem more like a prison than a school. Seems like the cops presence is more of a challenge to the students in terms are trying to get away things. After my son was physically and sexually assaulted they wanted me to send him back to school saying it would be safe. This is way kids don’t feel heard when they feel unsafe but school say your fine come back and they are sent back to an unsafe environment. The principal said they were going to help but instead I never heard back she never told his teachers and he failed a few classes because of it. The cop at the school also told me it’s normal for boys to touch each other, I told her that is not our normal but she said it was there. She told me I could file a report, this would do nothing to help my son and I felt like they thought I was over reacting and like it was a waste of their time. Also this wasn’t the first time it happened to which I called the school tried to get in touch with someone to help and no one called back. Needless to say my son will not go back to this school. I also have an autistic daughter who would have attended next year, who now will also not go to this school. I think the kids hear need help and the staff don’t know how to handle them. My son told me a few kids would cuss the teachers out and so many fights would happen. Maybe it is normal here but like I said it’s not normal for us and I feel horrible putting my kids at risk because I was naive in schools didn’t really have these problems anymore. I guess we were luck in our prior schools. Some teachers did reach out with concern on why he hadn’t been to school in weeks but out of 5 teachers only 2 reached out. The only good thing my son would say is that he liked how little homework he received compared to his other school.

Washington is a special place. In a town where we have seen neighborhood schools turned into super-sized schools, Washington remains the smallest (approx. 300 students) school in the district. It is common to see students walk to school, walk to downtown field trip events, and walk to after school activities at Wilson Park. Washington enjoys the support and resources of its active parent base, the University of Arkansas, and the Downtown district. The students are racially and economically diverse, and the school focuses on compassion, leadership, and conflict resolution as tools to navigate diversity.

My children's experience at Owl Creek has been great. It's one of the most diverse schools in the area. Everyone has always been welcoming and friendly, and there's a sense of community and belonging at Owl Creek. Mr. Craft has been with Owl Creek for several years. He has been a great leader/principal. My kids respect him due to the kindness and respect he shows the children. Overall I highly recommend Owl Creek (both elementary and middle school) has great teachers with experience who seem to care about my kid's well-being and education!