RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. — The Russellville School District has improved its overall academic performance score by nearly 42 points over the past two years, bringing it closer to an A rating under Arkansas’ school accountability system.
Superintendent Dr. Luke Lovins highlighted the district’s progress during his annual report to patrons at Tuesday night’s School Board meeting, pointing to higher test scores, improvements at previously struggling campuses and growing success in Advanced Placement courses.
The district earned an overall score of 504.27 for the 2025–26 school year, up from 480.29 the previous year and 462.41 two years ago. Russellville maintained its B rating, but Lovins said the district is working toward the 532-point threshold needed to earn an A.
“We hope to be there in the next couple of years,” Lovins told board members.
The district also outperformed state averages in all three core testing subjects, scoring two percentage points above the state in English language arts, six points above in math and seven points above in science.
One of the most significant developments came at Russellville Middle School, which jumped from a D to a B in the state’s latest accountability ratings.
Lovins said the improvement followed an intensive effort involving school administrators, teachers, district support staff and the Arch Ford Education Service Cooperative.
The school’s accountability score rose from 373.89 to 465.02, an increase of more than 91 points in a single year.
For Lovins, the turnaround demonstrated that the district has a workable approach for helping struggling campuses improve.
“We know we have a blueprint for a school that is struggling,” he said.
Dwight Elementary and Oakland Heights Elementary also improved from C ratings to B ratings.
Overall, nine of Russellville’s 10 schools earned an A or B for the 2025–26 school year. Sequoyah Elementary and Russellville Intermediate School received A ratings, while seven campuses earned B ratings. Russellville High School received a C, down from a B the previous year.
Lovins said he was particularly encouraged by the response of school principals when the new ratings were released. Rather than simply celebrating their improvements, he said, they had already begun studying their results and identifying areas that needed additional attention.
The district is also seeing improvement in student growth, a measure that looks beyond whether students meet grade-level standards to examine how much academic progress they make from one year to the next.
Lovins emphasized that the measure is particularly important for students who begin the year performing below grade level.
Russellville also reported continued growth in its Advanced Placement program, which allows high school students to take college-level courses and potentially earn college credit.
Lovins said approximately 550 students took at least one AP exam during the 2025–26 school year, with 63 percent scoring a 3 or higher.
That marked an important milestone for the district, which had been working to push its AP success rate above 60 percent after spending several years in the 50-percent range.
The district offered 27 AP courses last school year.
Participation has increased alongside performance, with more students choosing to enroll in the rigorous classes and take the exams.
Lovins also highlighted the district’s efforts to prepare younger students for advanced academic opportunities. A total of 112 students participated in scholar camps or other tutoring opportunities designed to support students pursuing more challenging coursework.
Those efforts were reflected in another achievement recognized Tuesday: seven Russellville High School seniors were named National Merit semifinalists, the district’s largest group since at least 1993.
The district also reported 481 students participating in gifted and talented programs.
Meanwhile, the graduating Class of 2026 received nearly $8 million in scholarships, providing significant opportunities for students continuing their education.
Despite the academic improvements, Lovins acknowledged that the district continues to face declining student enrollment, a trend affecting public schools across Arkansas.
He said statewide public school enrollment has declined by more than 8,000 students over the past five years.
Lovins believes the best way to reverse that trend locally is to continue improving the quality of education the district provides.
“If you want to see your enrollment get back to its traditional levels, then the first thing you have to do is just have a great school,” he said.
The district also reported an 11-to-1 student-teacher ratio and outlined the scope of services provided to students with additional learning needs.
Those programs include special education services for 805 students, Section 504 accommodations for 695 students and support for 280 students identified with dyslexia.
While much of the annual report focused on academic performance, Lovins reminded board members that numbers tell only part of what happens in the district’s classrooms.
He described teachers making sure students have enough to eat and counselors helping children obtain basic necessities, including shoes.
Those efforts, he said, are just as important as the achievements reflected in the district’s academic data.
Lovins credited teachers, administrators, support employees and families for the district’s progress, emphasizing that student success depends on work taking place throughout the school system.
The superintendent said the district’s goal remains preparing students for whatever comes after graduation, whether that means college, employment, military service or another path.
“This does not tell the whole story of what our teachers and our phenomenal people do every day,” Lovins said of the annual report. “But it does give you a little look at the success that you can see.”
