Chick-fil-A Senior Vice President Bubba Cathy is in the Ozarks this morning to dedicate the S. Truett Cathy Lower School, named in honor of his late father and Chick-fil-A founder.
College of the Ozarks started the K-8 preparatory school this semester and it now serves 139 students as a complement to Hard Work U’s two-year-old School of the Ozarks High School and the 108-year-old educational institution. Cathy and school officials held an 11 a.m. ceremony to dedicate the elementary school and distributed Chick-fil-A sandwiches to the students.
Similar to the high school and college at the Point Lookout campus, Cathy Lower School students do not pay tuition but earn their education through age-appropriate chores. For instance, fifth and sixth graders clean the hallways, common areas and lunch tables, while the youngest students are responsible for keeping their own classroom spaces tidy.
The recent additions of K-12 education revive College of the Ozarks’ original mission when it was incorporated in 1906 as School of the Ozarks. High school and grammar school curricula were offered until the late 1950s, and in 1965 the school became a four-year college. The Wall Street Journal dubbed the school Hard Work U, based on its tuition fee structure.
Last fall, school officials conducted a
feasibility survey with over 400 area families and discovered a high level of interest. In the fall 2013 trustee’s meeting, the board authorized the addition of lower grades and the administration spent the year hiring teachers and staff and preparing classroom space in the top floor of the Youngman Agricultural Center, said C of O spokeswoman Elizabeth Hughes.
This summer, the school hired an assistant headmaster, a K-8 curriculum director/lead teacher and six instructors for the lower grades. Hughes said School of the Ozarks employs 18 staff and faculty members and there are a combined 230 students.
C of O has a longstanding relationship with Chick-fil-A’s Cathy family and for eight years has held the S. Truett Cathy Poverty Summit on campus for teachers, ministry and church leaders, and government officials working directly with individuals struggling financially. The Cathy family also has contributed an undisclosed amount of funding to the school.[[In-content Ad]]
