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A shuttle service was established to transport 10 girls from Fort Smith to the Tontitown campus.
Published: August 18, 2022
Alessia Shaffer
Elizabeth Cawthron (left), a graduate of St. Joseph School in Paris, and Genesis Rosales, a graduate of Trinity Catholic School in Fort Smith, ride the bus to Ozark Catholic Academy on the Aug. 15 school day.
A Catholic high school vacancy in the Fort Smith area is being filled this fall.
While boys in grades nine through 12 traveled 45 miles to Subiaco Academy for decades, girls had no choice and had to choose public or private school.
As the new school year begins, a path is set for students in the River Valley to attend Ozark Catholic Academy on the campus of St. Joseph Parish in Tontitown. The independent Catholic high school, which opened in 2018, welcomed 10 female students from the Fort Smith area to its campus. Two ninth graders and an eighth grader come all the way to Paris to attend the school.
Fort Smith has been interested in re-establishing a Catholic high school for some time, with the closure of both St. Scholastica Academy for Girls in 1968 and St. Anne’s High School in 1973.
“It was important,” said Father John Anthony, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith. “I wanted to help create an opportunity where there was a gap for years. I’ve always felt sad that girls don’t have a choice in high school. In this day and age, there’s no excuse for not giving girls the same opportunity to attend a Catholic high school.”
“It was important,” said Father John Anthony, pastor of Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith. “I wanted to help create an opportunity where there was a gap for years. I’ve always felt sad that girls don’t have a choice in high school. In this day and age, there’s no excuse for not giving girls the same opportunity to attend a Catholic high school.”
For all students, the choice involves more than an hour of commuting to and from school. Driving that distance every day is impossible for many, but Father Anthony doesn’t want transportation to be the only reason students say no to Catholic education.
In the year In early 2022, Father Anthony asked OCA Head of School John Rocha to come to Fort Smith to meet with parents. To many parents, a Catholic high school education seemed out of reach because the idea had not taken root in the River Valley area. Meetings are held to introduce current OCA students to prospective families and to explore the needs of the school. Within months, eight students were enrolled, and two more students enrolled in August.
Another contributing factor that allowed students to make the transition more seamlessly was the Fort Smith School District’s 2021 adjustment of grades to a common ninth-12th grade high school. Before that, Trinity Junior High was seventh-ninth grades and the high school was 10th-12th grades. The new results alignment allowed Trinity students to graduate from the eighth grade and attend either a public school, Subiaco, OCA or another private school.
Fortunately, this allowed Father Antonis to begin solving the difficult part of the equation: transportation.
“Personally, I have always felt indebted to my Catholic school education,” said Father Anthony. “I attended St. Teresa’s Catholic School, Catholic High in Little Rock and the University of Dallas. I understand what a Catholic school offers to young people in terms of faith. I feel like I’m paying back a debt. “
An OCA-owned van and two shuttle buses are used for weekday transportation. One bus was partially paid for by Fort Smith donors.
Currently, 15 drivers are registered to transport students every day. One of them is Abba Antonis, who is on vacation. Eight are from Fort Smith and six are from Northwest Arkansas.
“I couldn’t say no,” said Mark Prager, the drivers’ official scheduler and a longtime friend of Father Anthony’s. He asked me to help him, and over the years we have been involved together as building committees and building projects at St. Raphael (Springdale) and St. Joseph in Fayetteville and on mission trips to Honduras.
Prenger, a member of St. Joseph Church in Fayetteville and retired from a part-time commercial construction company. Father Annotoni said it was inspired by his love for Catholic education.
“Children need the experience and attention that Catholic education offers, especially in our area today. Even as a driver, I want to help as much as I can,” he said.
Another driver, Deacon Dan Hennessy, retired in February and moved to Tontitown. Soon after, he received a call from Father Anthony to drive the shuttle twice a month.
“My husband and I were raised Catholic, as were our sons, so Catholics are dear to our hearts,” he said. “Providing transportation to Fort Smith area students allows them to complete their high school education at Catholic schools. Girls in the area had no choice but to attend public schools.
Students meet every morning at the OCA van parked at Immaculate Conception Church. The driver will either stay in northwest Arkansas for the day or return to Fort Smith that morning. After the afternoon return drive, following the athletics, at 4:30 p.m., a driver from Northwest Arkansas will return home with an OCA van to Fort Smith. Due to the number of drivers, shifts only roll twice a month.
Mary Cauthron, mother of Elizabeth Cauthron, a 9th grader and recent graduate of St. Joseph in Paris, said, “We chose OCA because of its Catholic, classical education and small environment. For us, we feel that OCA educates everyone and not just the elite. I feel the classes are more tailored to her needs. As a family we are willing to sacrifice sleep because we feel it is the best fit for her and we feel a Catholic education is very important. This was accomplished by God’s miracle, so she took the shuttle to school.”
In 2021, a similar shuttle service was established so students from Hot Springs could travel to Mount St. Mary Academy and Catholic High School in Little Rock.
Two former female OCA graduates also came from the River Valley, one from Subiaco and one from Charleston, to form their own car pool.
“John Rocha’s passion is unparalleled,” Father Anthony said of OCA, “and he will do anything to make this school a success.
“We are thrilled to have this option open to River Valley students,” said Rocha. “Our local Catholic community is growing. It is wonderful to have volunteer drivers from Fort Smith and Northwest Arkansas to drive these students over 100 miles each day, and I am truly grateful for their contributions.
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