CONWAY CHRISTIAN EXPANSION Improves Education Opportunities for Students

Every decision made at Conway Christian School focuses on quality, never quantity. For that reason, decisions are never made on how big Conway Christian wants to be become, but how well it can provide for its students, said school president Jason Carson.

“We do it based on how good we want to be,” he said.

Conway Christian opened a two-story, 30,000 square-foot facility to students in January. Carson said the new building does a lot for the school. In addition to strengthening a host of offerings, it opens up room in other facilities and establishes a building for elementary, intermediate and high school.

“It provides a better space for our students,” Carson said. “It creates a more optimal space for all three groups.”

It also frees up about 3,000 square feet, each, in the elementary and middle school buildings for classrooms, dedicated art rooms and a STEM lab.

The new building itself will serve as home to the high school, grades nine through 12. It features a multipurpose auditorium that will alleviate demands on the school’s gymnasium and provide a great space for a multitude of activities and events.

It is outfitted with projector screens and a modern sound and light system that will allow for drama and choir performances, serve as a new home for chapel services and give Conway Christian a place to host school and community events.

The building also adds to the campus’ athletic and arts capabilities. Its art room will include a kiln, and athletics will enjoy a new locker room and weight room in the facility.

“We have had a really competitive sports program, and enjoyed a great art program, both for more than a decade now, but we’ve been doing it in less-than-ideal space,” Carson said. “This gives us some of the best space around.”

Conway Christian has experienced tremendous growth in the last two years, increasing enrollment by 100 students to 600 total across the campus. The addition of a new building gives the school the opportunity to grow in the elementary and intermediate schools.

“It has to be strategic,” Carson said. “It should allow us to grow, comfortably, to 750 or 800 students.”

The new building cost $7 million, all of which was raised by way of private donors and families of the school.

“We have created a great donor base through this campaign, with a significant amount of money coming every year to the school from our current families,” Carson said. “It allows us to not carry any debt with this new building, and it means as we add new revenue, those dollars go straight to our teachers and improving our quality of education.”

Because of the unique offering the school brings to Conway and Faulkner County, Carson said, there’s a special focus put on the quality of the education Conway Christian provides.

“Our goal is to serve the families who want a Christian, college-preparatory education to the best of our abilities,” he said. “That means having the best teachers, best culture, best community and best facilities.”