Ridgway Christian School

Ridgway Christian School (RCS) was a private K–12 Christian school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.[1] Pine Bluff First Assembly of God is the school's parent church. The 30-acre (12 ha) middle and high school campus was owned by the Pine Bluff Educational Endowment (PBEE);[2] This campus was known as Ridgway Christian High School (RCHS).[3]

History

In August 1997 the school opened with five employees and 17 students.[4] The First Assembly of God Church had created the school.[5]

From 2007 to 2008 the net increase of students was around 20. In that same period 15 of them stopped attending the school since they moved outside of the Pine Bluff area, which reflected the economic issues in the Arkansas Delta region.[6]

Ridgway Christian began leasing the current secondary school building in June 2013. St. Joseph Catholic School previously leased the building before its 2013 closure.[2] John Worthen of the Pine Bluff Commercial wrote that area Catholic schools were losing students as many who wanted private education came to Ridgway Christian instead.[7] Therefore, Ridgway Christian had two buildings: one primary (K-6) and one secondary (7-12).[5]

As of 2013 the school's expected number of students was to be 500, including 120 in grades 7–12.[2] In 2017 the school had about 300 students.[4]

In 2018 the secondary campus was repurposed as a charter school, Southeast Arkansas Preparatory High School.[8] The Christian School director announced that the plans were to discontinue the high school program and to have a single K-8 campus. According to the president of the newly established charter school, Pat Hart, the Ridgway Christian high school program encountered difficulty recruiting students.[5]

References
  1. "Dollarway parents are upset about not being allowed to transfer children to another district". The Pine Bluff Commercial. 2015-05-22. Archived from the original on July 31, 2017. Retrieved 2017-07-31. "Jefferson County has[...] one private school in Ridgway Christian School."
  2. "Ridgway Christian School leases former St. Joseph campus". The Pine Bluff Commercial. 2013-06-26. Archived from the original on 1 Aug 2017. Retrieved 2017-08-01.
  3. "Contact Us." Ridgway Christian School. Retrieved on August 1, 2017. "RCS: 3201 Ridgway Road, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71603" and "RCHS: 1501 West 73rd Avenue, Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71603 "
  4. "About Us." Ridgeway Christian School. Retrieved on August 1, 2017.
  5. "Charter school looks to take over Ridgway Christian High School". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. 2017-04-14. Archived from the original on May 15, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-15.
  6. "HIGHER ED NUMBERS UP; PUBLIC SCHOOLS DROP". Pine Bluff Commercial. Pine Bluff, Arkansas. 2008-09-09.
  7. Worthen, John (2012-04-30). "PB Catholic school on ropes". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 2022-05-14.
  8. Howell, Cynthia (2017-08-18). "Little Rock, 2 Pine Bluff charters win panel's favor". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Archived from the original on May 14, 2022. Retrieved 2022-05-14.

34.166971°N 92.035028°W / 34.166971; -92.035028


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