FAQ

For the 2025-26 academic year we will offer Grades K-2 and 5-12. By the 2026-27 academic year we will offer Grade K-12.

We aspire to create a dynamic and diverse community of students. In considering prospective students, we look for a candidate's academic readiness and desire to participate fully in the life of the School and the local community. Among the many qualities we hope to find and cultivate in our students are curiosity, creativity, open-mindedness, independence, ambition, and dedication. 

335 students are enrolled at Thaden School for the 2024-25 academic year. The school will grow incrementally, and will be able to support as many as 525 students, although the size of each instructional section will remain small. 

Our 113 alumni in our first four graduating classes have now enrolled at more than 60 different colleges and universities in 26 states spread evenly across the nation. While this list includes many highly selective institutions (Cal Tech, Princeton, Amherst, Air Force, Northwestern, Carleton, Middlebury, Georgia Tech, and many more), what most inspires us is the broad representation across all sectors of higher education: public and private, arts and tech, urban and rural. True to the legacy of our namesake who opened the skies for women, Thaden has become a runway for new opportunities. 

  Visit our College Counseling page or read our College Profile to see a full list of acceptances.

Most of our core departments and programs, including English, Mathematics, Computer Science, History, Social Sciences, World Languages, and Visual and Performing Arts, offer advanced courses that are especially challenging and comparable to college-level work. Of the more than 100 courses offered at Thaden School, over 20% are accelerated or equivalent to college-level; these advanced course offerings are denoted on the transcript. We do not offer AP or IB courses. 

To learn more about our curriculum, visit the Academics page or view our Middle School or Upper School Curriculum Guides.

Each year our students earn international, national, and regional distinctions.

• Three graduates earned full four-year scholarships through the QuestBridge National College Match program. Another earned the prestigious Jefferson Scholarship, covering the full cost of attendance plus expenses at the University of Virginia.
• Five students participated in the National Security Language Initiative for Youth summer programs. Another earned a full scholarship for The Paideia Institute’s Living Latin in Rome High School program.
• One student auditioned for and was selected to perform in a small mixed choir at the Sydney Opera House.
• Two students won first place and a third won second place for art pieces entered in the Arkansas Young Artist Association Competition.
• One student was one of only two students out of 500 participants recognized for Excellence in Leadership and Ethics at the West Point Summer Leader Experience.
• Five students formed the world’s first competitive high school gravel cycling team.  
• One student was recruited as a Division I NCAA Track and Field athlete and earned a scholarship to compete at the University of Montana.
• Two students were among the top 20 finalists in a field of 6,000 submissions for the 2019 NPR Student Podcast Challenge.

Thaden School cannot modify the curriculum, but can make some accommodations for students with documented needs. 

Examples of Classroom Accommodations:

• Assistive Technology: Calculators, Google Read&Write, and Audiobooks

• Extended Time (150%)

• Noise-canceling Headphones

• Peer Notetaker

• Preferential Seating 

• Copy of Class Notes/Slides

• Breaks as Needed

• Break Assignments into Manageable Steps

• Frequent Checks for Understanding

• Redirection to Task

Examples of Testing Accommodations:

• Preferential Seating

• Extended Time (150%)

• Small Group Testing (Our classes are considered small groups, so we would not test students in a group other than their class)

70% of our current students receive an Indexed Tuition. All families pay well below the cost of a Thaden education, even those at the maximum rates. To learn more about indexed tuition, complete this form or visit our Afford page.

Although the trimester system has not been widely adopted in the region, our academic calendar begins on or near the same date as most public and charter schools in Northwest Arkansas and is aligned with sports seasons, national holidays, and traditional breaks. The Thaden school year has a one-week Thanksgiving break, two-week winter and spring breaks. Click here to view our calendar.

Thaden offers a robust co-curricular program after school that all Middle and Upper School students are welcome to take advantage of. After-school supervision outside of co-curriculars is also available for $25/week.

Thaden School has been accepted into the EFA program for the 2024-25 academic year so that eligible Thaden families may choose to pursue, on their own accord, a source of tuition assistance that will make a Thaden education more affordable for them. If you have questions about EFA funds please contact tuition@thadenschool.org.

Kindergarten applicants must be five years old by August 1, 2025 for the 2025-26 school year. 

With limited seats, we will not be able to offer admission to all qualified applicants. We will undertake a holistic review process that includes an internal assessment of a child’s readiness to engage in a Thaden education. In keeping with our mission, we aspire to create a dynamic and diverse community of students.

Thaden uses a wait pool instead of a waitlist to achieve balanced classes. Students will be selected from the wait pool when a seat is available.

In Lower School there is one lead teacher and one assistant teacher in every classroom of 16 students. Additional faculty teach outdoor education, arts, music, and Spanish. 

In Middle and Upper School the average class size is 15.