SPRINGDALE (KFSM) -- A Catholic education is only available until eighth grade in Northwest Arkansas. However, that will soon change as the first Catholic high school is in the works to be built by 2017.
The school will be built in Springdale so that it is in the center of Northwest Arkansas.
Jason Plhlmeier, principal of Saint Joseph Catholic School in Fayetteville, said Northwest Arkansas is a great place to get an education, which is why private schools have not been necessary. Saint Joseph is for children Pre-K to eighth grade.
However some parents have raised concern about wanting a Catholic school for their teenage children.
"I want a strong academic background for them, but I feel like to be a well-rounded child, that background and faith and understanding of a greater presence in our lives," said Susan Antony, a parent of a fourth grade student at Saint Joseph's.
The high school will run independently of the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock, which means the diocese won't financially support the school. The planning board is currently working to raise $1.5 million in the next months.