The word “home” doesn’t always represent four walls and a roof. For some, “home” is a place or a feeling you get around a particular person. When crafting the 2025 “Home” Issue, we wanted to take a different approach. Rather than focusing exclusively on real estate or design, we wanted to dive into what makes Bentonville the kind of place people are proud to call their hometown.
Take Thaden School, for example. The campus is arguably as iconic to Bentonville’s cityscape as Walton’s 5 & 10 or Crystal Bridges. Designed by Fayetteville-based firm Marlon Blackwell Architects, with support from The Walton Family Foundation’s Design Excellence program, Thaden’s award-winning campus adds contemporary flare to our built environment while honoring sustainability and preserving the heritage of its namesake - aviator Louise Thaden.
Environmentally attuned, long, and angular, these vibrant buildings frame outdoor learning spaces, native landscaping, and pedestrian pathways, intentionally merging the learned experience with the Northwest Arkansas environment for what administrators have dubbed Community-Based Learning [CBL].
“CBL is predicated on the idea that the most transformative learning experiences take place in community—that is, when individuals are in authentic relationship with one another in service of making the world a better place,” said CBL Chair, Cycling Education and English Faculty, Sam Slaten. “Courses are designed to provide students with extended opportunities to work with and through our communities to think ethically, critically, and creatively about global issues and their local manifestations; to ideate and, when possible, implement solutions.”
A pivotal example of CBL success comes out of an Urban Studies class Slaten taught a few years ago. “Students in that course ideated, pitched, and executed Bentonville's first citizen-led tactical urbanism project,” he said. “This took the form of DIY crosswalks and a mural directly on the asphalt at the intersection of 8th and Main, right next to our campus. Though the mural was torn up during the 8th Street improvement project, it has inspired the city to pursue its own tactical urbanism interventions. That's the kind of transformational change that CBL catalyzes."
Thaden’s curriculum is designed to nurture curiosity and build a strong sense of civic engagement, exemplified in three signature CBL programs—Meals, Reels, and Wheels. These concepts bring learning to life through hands-on, interdisciplinary collaborations including culinary arts, journalism, and mechanics. Student experiences include using greenhouse work to better understand science and culture [Meals] or engaging humanities through film and photography [Reels]. Quintessentially Bentonville, the Wheels program leverages local bike trails and mechanics to practice math, physics, and urban planning.
"The CBL curriculum introduces the students to the process of creating real-world impact,” said Thaden student, Killian S., class of 2027. “It is important because, without it, students who turn to adults have no idea how to make an impact in their community."
Thaden sets a precedent for education across the board, but when it comes to private institutions, no school comes close to achieving what Thaden has with its indexed tuition. While most independent schools achieve need or merit-based scholarships for ten to 15 percent of their students, Thaden supports closer to 70 percent of its students through the charitable support of local community leaders.
Thaden’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Sam Bertoncino says the purpose of building state-of-the-art facilities and creating new pathways to access world-class education is to empower and cultivate confident future leaders and change makers.
“Diversity is essential to quality education,” she says. “We want to model what happens in the real world, which means learning to work together despite differences, whether they’re religious, socioeconomic, or otherwise."
Adding to that sentiment, Thaden's Associate Head of School and Head of Upper School, Dr. Jessica Bonnem says, “A Thaden education should fill students with confidence in themselves and a joy in learning that lifts them up and carries them far on the road to independence. Our curriculum is designed to develop not only the critical thinking skills of discerning citizens, but also the empathy and curiosity of scholars who can explore complex questions from many perspectives. We also strive to help students balance their convictions with humility and respect for civil discourse and free inquiry.”
The joy of Community-Based Learning has inspired more families to apply to Thaden year after year, bolstering the school’s decision to expand its offerings to encompass K-12 in the coming years.
“Over the past seven years, Thaden has seen great success and support from the Northwest Arkansas community,” said Head of School, Michael Maloy. “The demand has always been high to expand to K-12 and given the growth in the area, we were ready to expand. We will offer Grades K-12 for the 2026/27 school year.”
Without even realizing it, we’re enjoying the fruits of Thaden’s less conventional - though, nonetheless effective - approach to education. Joyful students make for engaging thinkers, conscious contributors, and ambitious athletes, with honorable character; a generation of neighbors to be proud of.
MICHELLE BAZIS | @MichelleBazis
When she's not working as the Managing Editor of Bentonville City Lifestyle, Michelle loves to spend her time making art, dropping in on a dance class, mountain biking with friends, and traveling with her husband, Ben.
Diversity is essential to quality education. We want to model what happens in the real world, which means learning to work together despite differences.