EFA and Joshua Academy
In 2024-25, 95 students at Joshua Academy used an Education Freedom Account, about 83% of the roughly 115 enrolled.
That ranks #4 of 8 participating schools in Sebastian and Crawford counties by number of EFA students. Its EFA share is above the local average of 64% across those schools.
Of those EFA students, 96% continued in the program the next school year and 92% stayed at Joshua Academy. Statewide, schools kept 84% of their EFA students on average. Students who graduated count as leaving.
On the nationally norm-referenced tests participating schools must give, Joshua Academy's EFA students averaged the 44th percentile in math and the 40th in reading, below the national median of 50. Statewide, EFA students averaged the 57th and 59th.
Families paid $290,341 to Joshua Academy from EFA accounts in the spring 2024-25 transactions the report covers. Fall transactions aren't broken out by provider.
In the federal Private School Survey (2023-24), the school reported 43 students, 3 full-time-equivalent teachers and a student-teacher ratio of about 14.3:1.
From kindergarten through grade 5, that's 6 school years. At the 2026-27 amount, a child who uses an account every year here would bring about $43,248 in state funding over that span. The amount is set each year, so treat this as a planning number.
Paying the balance
Church schools often offer member, sibling and staff discounts. Ask whether they still apply when part of the bill is paid from an EFA, and which fees (books, uniforms, technology) the school invoices through ClassWallet.
Check my funding for this school →
After grade 5: where students can continue
Joshua Academy ends at grade 5. These local EFA schools serve grade 6:
- Union Christian Academy (Fort Smith, grades PK-12, about 5 mi)
- Trinity Catholic School (Fort Smith, grades 6-8, about 7 mi)
- First Lutheran School (Fort Smith, grades PK-6, about 7 mi)
Questions to ask the school
- How do you bill EFA families: directly through ClassWallet each quarter, or do we pay and get reimbursed?
- What is the full cost for my child's grade, including registration, books, uniforms and fees, and what's left after the $7,208 account?
- Which discounts and aid apply on top of the account?
- Which nationally norm-referenced test do you give, and will you share my child's results?
Closest private schools
| School | Type | Grades | Distance | EFA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Union Christian Academy | Christian | PK-12 | 5.0 mi | ✓ |
| Trinity Catholic School | Catholic | 6-8 | 6.7 mi | ✓ |
| First Lutheran School | Lutheran (Missouri Synod) | PK-6 | 7.2 mi | ✓ |
| Christ the King Catholic School | Catholic | PK-5 | 7.7 mi | ✓ |
| The Montessori School of Fort Smith | Montessori | PK-7 | 9.1 mi | — |
| Harvest Time Academy | Christian | PK-5 | 11.2 mi | ✓ |
Straight-line distance from federal survey coordinates.