A $13 million gift from two of Northwest Arkansas’ leading families will allow The New School to add a high school, beginning with ninth grade later this year.
The announcement of the $10 million gift from the J.B. Hunt family and a $3 million gift from Todd and Shelley Simmons means there are currently three private school development projects in the works in Northwest Arkansas.
The New School, which currently educates students in kindergarten through eighth grade, is located in Fayetteville. The school announced the gifts on its website on Friday.
Two other groups have plans in the works for new private schools.
The Walton Family Foundation in July last year announced that it will develop a new independent school in Bentonville.
Meanwhile, Arkansas Catholic, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Little Rock, published a story earlier this month about building a Catholic high school with a central location in Northwest Arkansas.
