Forest Park Elementary School

Amazing school, top to bottom. They have completely turned around their Junior High program and I would argue it is now one of the best in the city. Fabulous Junior High teachers and the only school that offers student choice for specialties at the middle school level. They also have a new STEM Lab and renewed focus on incorporating STEM in the primary classrooms. Plus, post-pandemic they have a whole program focusing on social-emotional development and catching up students where they might have lost socially with peer-to-peer relationship skills during virtual learning. I am not a Holy Souls grad or even an Arkansas native, but we have been welcomed and included at every turn, so not really sure what happened to the reviewer who claims nepotism. We are SO happy our kids go to school here, would not trade our experience for anything.

Christ Little Rock School is a hidden gem. The classes are small (always less than 20 kids) and there is only one class per grade. The teachers and kids of all grades pretty much know each other by mid-year. They have a weekly chapel where the older students sing and play in the chapel band, and one of the classes often performs a skit for the chapel message. There are many opportunities for students to be on stage performing as a class, including at Thanksgiving, Christmas and Fine Arts Night in May. The academics are great, and we have been very happy with our daughter's progression academically. The teachers are kind and really value each child as an individual. The community is very welcoming, and the other students are very kind; we have not heard of any issues with bullying, etc. I am always comfortable dropping my daughter off, knowing she is loved for who she is.

The Anthony School (TAS) was amazing for my children. Having our family attend other state school systems, I can say by and large TAS exceeded all our other school experiences. All at the elementary level, but the range of oppurtunities and learning with Violin, Art using multiple mediums (Kiln, Clay, sculpting, etc.), Comp Sci and 3D printing, World Clutures and others my kids were always excited for school.The teachers and staff are the best, the small class, and tight-knit community allows for such ease to accomodate any special circumstances. We got to interact with the entire elementary staff through the years, and I would recommend any of them. Everyone was easily accessible for any questions.Two of my children required additional learning services and TAS provided daily one-on-one an hour a day for one child, and twice weekly for another to meet their needs.The after-school programs, Soccer, Art, Coding, are great, but many fill-up quick. My kids enjoyed the general after-care even if no specific program was available that day, its like extended PE.The shows the children get to put on, plays, recitals, etc. may be the cutest things you will ever see.I would say the only things, is that as working parents, trying to get involved, to get known by other parents, required a little effort, but once I showed my face once on a field trip or a volunteer event, they were very welcoming. And that could be just on my part. All the classes set up group chats, to stay in the know, of activities. I saw a previous post, and I think to counter their complaints, it is a really small school, and everyone basically starts together at Kindergarten and 1st grade, on up. Then they get an influx at the middle school level. So it just takes a few oppurtunities for you or your children to get to know everyone. Especially for some who start in the middle. I can't recommend TAS enough, and we didn't think we would love and miss Arkansas, but The Anthony School is a little gem in Little Rock.

As a Black mom, I’m very thoughtful about where I place my child. I want an environment where he’s supported, where teachers communicate openly with parents, and where young children are given patience while they learn. Unfortunately, that was not our experience here.For months, we were not told that our son wasn’t speaking much in the classroom. The first time it was brought to our attention was only after biting incidents began happening. What was especially concerning to us was that our son had previously been bitten himself, and the biting behavior only started after that. Earlier communication would have allowed us to partner with the school and address things sooner.The school later suggested an evaluation. The results were eye-opening for us. On the paper-based assessment, our son performed ahead developmentally. However, the observation portion raised concerns about how he was interacting in the classroom environment. It appeared that he had largely shut down at school.Based on what we later learned and observed, it often felt like our son was spoken to and corrected much more sternly than other children his age. While I cannot speak to anyone’s intentions, the experience left us feeling that he was being treated unfairly and that the classroom approach was not supportive for him.Ultimately, we made the decision to remove him from the program. When we arrived the next day to pick him up, his belongings were already packed. We did not receive a follow-up conversation, note, or any expression of care about his departure, which was difficult after trusting the school with our child.I’m sharing this so other parents — especially Black mothers — feel empowered to ask early questions about how concerns are communicated, how toddler behavior is handled, and how schools partner with families when challenges arise. Our children deserve patience, transparency, and care while they are still so little.