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Our Mission

Our mission is to provide a balanced and challenging education that ignites in our students a passion for discovery and learning, prepares them to succeed in college, and inspires them to lead lives of integrity, purpose, and responsible global citizenship.

Our Story

With the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation, we opened in the fall of 2017 and will continue to grow incrementally to serve approximately 500 students in Grades 6 through 12.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

Thaden School is committed to actively engaging with the ever-unfinished and essential work of diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism.

WHY THADEN?

Our Students

By virtue of our Indexed Tuition program and small class sizes, we offer a learning culture in which students of many interests, aspirations, and backgrounds can share and explore different points of view under the guidance of nurturing, even-handed educators. As our students discover their common ground and learn from their differences, they grow better prepared for life and citizenship in a nation founded upon a shared commitment to the value of civil debate and diversity of thought.

Our Faculty

Recruited from all parts of the United States and many parts of the world, our educators bring to our campus a passion for and mastery of the subjects they teach and the ability to educate, inspire, and mentor young people, inside and outside of the classroom. The diverse talents, interests, regional identities, and backgrounds of our faculty create a learning environment that empowers students to think expansively and imaginatively about their potential and the course of their journey in life.

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Our Curriculum

Our core curriculum not only provides students with a broad foundation in the sciences and the humanities but also teaches them how to integrate disciplines and understand their dynamic connections. Our commitment to interdisciplinary problem solving also finds rich expression in our three signature programs — Wheels, Reels, and Meals — where students combine multiple fields of study and engage with community partners in ways that foster a strong sense of civic responsibility. Intensives and other forms of independent study as well as Community-Based Learning (CBL) courses provide further opportunities for students to form and investigate their own questions from many angles.

Curriculum

Our Campus

Designed by a nationally renowned team of architects, our campus is itself a teacher that sparks curiosity, inspires creativity, and invites reflection. As students move through the course of the day, they encounter a variety of architectural spaces and landscape features that enhance their learning while creating an enduring and enriching sense of place.

Campus

Our Community

As our school community continues to grow, we continue to be intentional about fostering a sense of belonging that makes each and all of us feel known, seen, heard, and celebrated. Thaden aspires to be a school where a diverse community can feel a shared sense of belonging. 

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Latest News

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Check out the most recent Thaden news below. View All News.

Thaden Art Students Receive Honors in the 2024 Scholastic Art Awards

The Thaden Visual Arts Department is thrilled to announce that numerous students have received honors in the 2024 Scholastic Art Awards for the Heartland Region. Presented by the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers, the Scholastic Awards are the longest-running and most prestigious recognition program for creative teens in the United States. Established in 1923, the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards bring the work of young people to regional and national audiences. The Scholastic Awards recognize students in grades 7 -12 with the distinctions of Honorable Mention, Silver Key, and Gold Key. Gold Key works automatically advance to the national level of judging in New York City. 

The Awards have recognized some of America's most celebrated artists and writers while they were teenagers including Tschabalala Self, Stephen King, Kay WalkingStick, Amanda Gorman, Charles White, Joyce Carol Oats, and Andy Warhol. We are proud to count our Thaden students among these esteemed award alumni! 

Selected students' work will be on display at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in the Lower Lobby Community Gallery from March 22 - May 5, 2025. There will be an awards ceremony on April 6, 2025, for students, families, and the community. 

Students selected for the Scholastic Art Awards include:
Gavin H. '29, Silver Key, Printmaking
Olivia K. '29, Silver Key, Painting 
Autumn N. '28, Gold Key, Drawing and Illustration
Emil S. '26, Three Honorable Mentions in Digital Art, Honorable Mention, Comic Art 
David R. '26, Honorable Mention, Ceramics and Glass, Honorable Mention, Drawing and Illustration
Valeria RJ. '25, Honorable Mention, Painting 
Addison R. '25, Honorable Mention, Drawing and Illustration
Allison W. '25, Honorable Mention, Drawing and Illustration
Austin K. '25, Honorable Mention, Photography

Read More about Thaden Art Students Receive Honors in the 2024 Scholastic Art Awards
Dr. Noreen Kupernik Presented at the Society for Classical Studies in Philadelphia

Noreen Kupernik recently traveled to Philadelphia to give a presentation at the annual meeting of the Society for Classical Studies. Her talk, "Natural Method for Dead Languages?" addressed some of the joys and challenges of teaching Latin with the spoken or natural method. Citing research in child language acquisition and standards set by the American Council on Teaching Foreign Languages (ACTFL), Dr. Kupernik's presentation kicked off a lively discussion with fellow presenters and audience members, some of whom were using spoken methods in their own classrooms.

Dr. Kupernik's talk highlighted the Latin pedagogical approach used at Thaden, which emphasizes spoken fluency and communication in tandem with grammar and translation. Thaden is one of few schools in the area that offers Latin, and is unique in its commitment to the spoken method. Dr. Kupernik writes: "I enjoyed returning to Philly, where I spent my college years, and being able to share with the wider Classics community about Thaden's Latin program and what we are accomplishing here in our little corner of Arkansas."

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Senior Meadow M.'s Artwork is on Display in Downtown Bentonville

Meadow M. '25 has her artwork displayed at the First National Bank of NWA in Bentonville thanks to local artist Zeek Taylor, the bank's art coordinator. The two met through the University of Arkansas's Pryor Center where Taylor is mentoring Meadow through archival work about his life that will be saved at the university. 

Meadow shared, "I am honored to have eight of my pieces displayed in the bank among other local artists’ work."

The gallery will be up until mid-April, and a reception will be on February 13. 

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Upper School Student Liz T. Presented at the Bright STaRS Program

Liz T. '26 was invited to participate in the Bright Students Training as Research Scientists (Bright STaRS) program at the AGU Conference in Washington, D.C. The program provides a dedicated forum for around 100 students to present their own research results to the scientific community and learn about exciting research, education, and career opportunities in Earth and space science. Liz presented with a group on a poster titled "A Galactic Garden" about plant systems in space.

Liz shared, "I was fortunate to present a poster at AGU as a high schooler because I gained insight and learned about the presence of the scientific community. Seeing brilliant scientists passionately dedicated to their fields of expertise was inspiring!"

Read More about Upper School Student Liz T. Presented at the Bright STaRS Program
Upper School Students and Faculty Attend the NAIS SDLC and POCC

The NAIS Student Diversity Leadership Conference (SDLC) is a multiracial, multicultural gathering of student leaders from eligible independent high schools across the U.S. and abroad. SDLC focuses on self-reflection, forming allies, and building community.

Julia Q. '26 shared, "SDLC created a space where everybody could freely explore and embrace their identity, without fear or judgment, in an environment of love and support. Even with people that I had just met, it felt as though we had known each other for years through bonding and connection in shared life experiences."

Led by a diverse team of trained adult and peer facilitators, participating students develop cross-cultural communication skills, design effective strategies for social justice practice through dialogue and the arts, and learn the foundations of allyship and networking principles. In addition to large group sessions, SDLC ‘family groups’ and ‘home groups’ allow for dialogue and sharing in smaller units.

Read the full story here.

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