Fort Smith · Van Buren · Barling · Greenwood · Alma

Fort Smith private schools are small. Most of their families now use an EFA.

Fort Smith and Van Buren have nine private K-12 schools on our list. In the state's 2024-25 report, more than half of the students at most of them paid with an Education Freedom Account. Here is each school, what the account covers, and what to ask before you enroll.

See what we qualify for How the account works

$7,208per student, 2026-27

8local schools took EFA students in 2024-25

772EFA students at those schools

$8,011for former Succeed Scholarship students

Every school, one list

Private schools in the Arkansas River Valley

The River Valley's private schools are mostly parish and church schools, and most of them stop before high school. Christ the King serves pre-K through grade 5, and Trinity Catholic serves grades 6-8. Union Christian Academy is the one campus in our directory that runs through grade 12.

Catholic

Christ the King Catholic School

Fort Smith

115 EFA studentsGrades PK-5

School details →Lutheran (Missouri Synod)

First Lutheran School

Fort Smith

43 EFA studentsGrades PK-6

School details →Christian

Harvest Time Academy

Fort Smith

82 EFA studentsGrades PK-5

School details →Catholic

Immaculate Conception School

Fort Smith

121 EFA students

School details →Christian

Joshua Academy

Van Buren

95 EFA studentsGrades K-5

School details →Montessori

The Montessori School of Fort Smith

Fort Smith

Grades PK-7

School details →Catholic

Trinity Catholic School

Fort Smith

71 EFA studentsGrades 6-8

School details →Christian

Union Christian Academy

Fort Smith

212 EFA studentsGrades PK-12

School details →

Full directory with addresses and data

Father helping his daughter read on a Van Buren front porch

The math

What the account changes for a the Arkansas River Valley family

An illustrative elementary year at a church school charging $7,400 tuition plus $400 in registration and books.

Tuition + fees$7,800

Education Freedom Account (2026-27)− $7,208

Balance before school aid or discounts$592

Illustration only. The account amount is the published 2026-27 figure. Tuition, fees and aid vary by school, so ask each school for its full price sheet.

the Arkansas River Valley

The local picture

The EFA has changed who these schools serve. At Harvest Time Academy, 82 of about 100 students used an account in 2024-25. At Joshua Academy in Van Buren it was 95 of about 115. For many Fort Smith families the account turned a stretch into a realistic option.

For high school, the realistic choices are Union Christian Academy, an online program paid from the account, or a homeschool path built from EFA-funded curriculum and tutoring.

Questions families ask

the Arkansas River Valley EFA questions

Which Fort Smith schools take the EFA?

In the state's 2024-25 report: Christ the King, Immaculate Conception, Trinity Catholic, First Lutheran, Harvest Time Academy, Union Christian Academy, Fort Smith Montessori School, and Joshua Academy in Van Buren. Schools can join each year, so ask any school not on that list whether it has applied.

Is there a private high school in Fort Smith that takes the EFA?

Union Christian Academy runs through grade 12 and participated in 2024-25, with 212 EFA students. Most of the other participating schools serve elementary or middle grades only. Families who want something else for high school often use the account for an accredited online school instead.

Does the account cover Catholic school tuition in Fort Smith?

It pays toward tuition at the participating Catholic schools, and parish rates still apply. Christ the King had 115 EFA students out of about 205 in 2024-25, and Immaculate Conception had 121 out of about 230.

Can we use the EFA to homeschool in Van Buren or Alma?

Yes. Since 2024-25, Arkansas families can use the account for homeschool curriculum, approved tutoring, testing and some enrichment. About a quarter of all accounts statewide were used this way that year.

How are payments made?

The 2026-27 award of $7,208 is paid in four quarterly deposits of about $1,802 into ClassWallet. Schools invoice ClassWallet directly, or you buy approved items in its marketplace or submit receipts for reimbursement.

Children working with Montessori materials in a River Valley classroom

For schools, churches & ministries

Start or grow a school that families can fund

Many River Valley congregations sit on Sunday-school wings that are empty all week. With most local private schools already full of EFA families, a church-hosted K-6 school or hybrid learning community fills a real gap, especially if it plans a path into the middle and high school years the area lacks.

Partner with us Online Christian school option

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