With the generous support of the Walton Family Foundation, Thaden School opened in the fall of 2017 and continues to grow incrementally to serve approximately 500 students in Grades 6 – 12. The school is named in honor of Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden (1905-1979) who was born and raised in Bentonville and was one of the greatest aviators of her time. This 30-acre campus served as the home of the Benton County Fair for nearly 80 years. Prior to that, it was the site of other educational institutions, including Bentonville High School, when Louise McPhetridge was a student there in the early 1920s.