Pine Bluff School District

Last updated

Pine Bluff School District
1215 W Pullen St
Pine Bluff
, Arkansas, 71601
District information
TypePublic
GradesPreK–12 [1]
NCES District ID 0500026 [1]
Students and staff
Students2,948 [1]
Teachers185.51 [1]
Staff269.5 [1]
Student–teacher ratio15.89 [1]
Other information
Website www.pinebluffschools.org

Pine Bluff School District No. 3 (PBSD) is a school district headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. The district has 10 schools with over 3,800 students and 500 employees.[ citation needed ]

Contents

The headquarters are the Jordan-Chanay Administrative Center in Pine Bluff. [2]

It is one of the largest school districts in the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Previously the district served both black and white high school students from the Dollarway School District (DSD) as that district only went up to junior high school, with Merrill High and Pine Bluff High taking each group, respectively. [3] This ended for black students in 1955 with the opening of Townsend Park High School and for white students the same year as the Pine Bluff district stopped accepting white Dollarway high school students due to overcrowding. [4]

Due to the Civil Rights Movement, Pine Bluff schools desegregated.

On July 1, 1984, the Linwood School District consolidated into the Pine Bluff school district. [5]

From 1988 to 2008 the school district's student population declined every year except for the period from 2006 to 2007. This reflected an economic turbulence in the Arkansas Delta region. In one period the student population decreased by 300. From 2007 to 2008 the student population decreased by 150. [6]

From 2011 to 2015 the enrollment of the school district declined by 445, mirroring a decrease in population in the City of Pine Bluff, and that meant the State of Arkansas no longer sent over $1,900,000 to the district on a yearly basis. In 2015 the district board voted 5-1 to close two campuses: Southeast Middle School and Oak Park Elementary School. Accordingly the district changed the grade alignment, with Belair Middle becoming a grade 5-6 school, and Jack Robey Junior High being a grade 7-8 school. Previously the two schools had grades 6-7 and 8-9. [7]

Michael Robinson, previously an employee at Prince George's County Public Schools in Maryland, became superintendent on June 6, 2016 and served in that capacity until June 30, 2018, when the board of directors bought out his contract. [8] Monica King-McMurray, previously the executive director of learning services, became interim superintendent. The district, in August 2018, offered her a one-year contract. [9] However the State of Arkansas took control of the school district in September of that year, so King-McMurray was forced out of her position and the board was dissolved. [10]

The State of Arkansas appointed Jeremy Owoh as superintendent. Once he left to join the Little Rock School District, the state appointed Barbara Warren, effective July 1, 2020, to be superintendent of the Pine Bluff district; she already also served as superintendent of the DSD. [11]

In December 2020 the Arkansas State Board of Education ruled that DSD should merge into the Pine Bluff School District as of July 1, 2021; all seven board members approved this. The post-merger Pine Bluff school district is to operate all existing schools from both districts. [12] Accordingly the attendance boundary maps of the respective schools remained the same for the 2021-2022 school year, and all DSD territory became a part of the territory of the PBSD. PBSD took possession of all DSD schools. [13] The Arkansas Board of Education mandated PBSD to keep the Dollarway schools in operation as a condition of the merger. In Spring 2022 the district chose to convert the two middle schools into a grade 7-9 configuration, though previously the plans were to merge them into a single middle school. [14]

In 2023, the district consolidated Dollarway High into Pine Bluff High and all middle school capacity into Moorhead Middle. [15]

Jefferson County, Arkansas school district mergers
Pine BluffLinwood Dollarway Hardin Altheimer-Sherrill Wabbaseka Plum Bayou-Tucker
Pine BluffDollarway Wabbaseka-Tucker
Altheimer Unified
Dollarway
Pine Bluff

Boundaries

Effective July 1, 2021, the district's service area includes sections of Pine Bluff, as well as Altheimer, Sherrill, and Wabbaseka. [16]

It also includes various unincorporated areas including Hardin, [17] Lake Dick, [16] [18] Linwood, [5] Moscow, New Gascony, Noble Lake, [16] [18] Pastoria, Plum Bayou, [19] Sweden, [16] [18] Tucker, [5] and Wright. [19]

Demographics

In 2002 it had about 6,600 students. [20]

In 2012 it had more than 4,279 students, with 84% being classified as low income, 96.77% being African-American, 2.13% being non-Hispanic white, and other racial identities at below 1%. [21]

Circa 2015-2016 it had over 4,300 students. [2]

In May 2020 the district had 2,921 students, [11] and then in December that year the figure was down to 2,799. [12]

Schools

Secondary schools:

Elementary schools:

Pre-K schools:

Alternative schools:

Closed schools

High schools
Middle schools
Elementary

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jefferson County, Arkansas</span> County in Arkansas, United States

Jefferson County, Arkansas is a county located in the U.S. state of Arkansas in the area known as the Arkansas Delta that extends west of the Mississippi River. Jefferson County consists of five cities, two towns, and 20 townships. It is bisected by the Arkansas River, which was critical to its development and long the chief transportation byway. In 2020, Jefferson County's population was estimated at 67,260. The county seat and largest city is Pine Bluff. The county is included in the Pine Bluff metropolitan statistical area. The county seat and the most populous city is Pine Bluff.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altheimer, Arkansas</span> City in Arkansas, United States

Altheimer is a city in Plum Bayou Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is situated on the Union Pacific Railway, 11 miles (18 km) northeast of Pine Bluff. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 984, down from 1,192 at the 2000 census. As of 2018 the estimated population was 829 and was down to 696 in the 2020 Census, with zero change estimated in 2021 and 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherrill, Arkansas</span> Town in Arkansas, United States

Sherrill is a town in Plum Bayou Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 84 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wabbaseka, Arkansas</span> Town in Arkansas, United States

Wabbaseka is a town in Dunnington Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Its population was 255 at the 2010 U.S. census. It is included in the Pine Bluff, Arkansas Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Pine Bluff High School (PBHS) is a comprehensive public high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. It, a part of the Pine Bluff School District, is the largest of two public high schools in the Pine Bluff city limits and three public high schools in Jefferson County. Established in 1868, the school's interscholastic sports programs are one of the nation's most successful with a football national championship and one of the state's highest number of state championships in football, baseball and track and field.

Watson Chapel School District No. 24 (WCSD) is a public school district serving the communities of Pine Bluff and Sulphur Springs within Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Headquartered in Pine Bluff, Watson Chapel School District employs over 300 faculty and staff to provide educational programs for students ranging from kindergarten through twelfth grade and enrolls more than 2,200 students.

White Hall School District (WHSD) is a public school district in northwest Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. The district employs approximately 400 faculty members and staff to provide educational programs for students ranging from kindergarten through twelve grade. It currently serves more than 3,000 students. All schools in the White Hall School District are accredited by AdvancED.

Dollarway School District No. 2 (DSD) was a school district headquartered in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, United States. With over 1,600 students and employing more than 300 educators and staff, the district had three active school campuses at the end of its life.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Dick, Arkansas</span> Unincorporated community in Arkansas, United States

Lake Dick is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Lake Dick is northeast of Pine Bluff and south of Altheimer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tucker, Arkansas</span> Census-designated place in Arkansas, United States

Tucker is an Unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson County, Arkansas. It is located 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Little Rock. It was first listed as a CDP in the 2020 census with a population of 95.

Wright is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Wright is located on Arkansas Highway 256, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) west-northwest of Sherrill. Wright has a post office with ZIP code 72182.

New Gascony, also known as Barraque Landing, is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is located 13 miles (21 km) west of Pine Bluff, the county seat. Founded by Antoine Barraque, a 19th-century landowner, in 1832; it was named for the Gascony region of France.

Sweden is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Sweden is located on Arkansas Highway 88, 16.1 miles (25.9 km) east of Pine Bluff. On January 22, 2012, an EF2 tornado struck Sweden, damaging grain bins and metal buildings; the tornado continued to a point northeast of Lodge Corner in Arkansas County.

Dollarway High School was a comprehensive public high school in northwest Pine Bluff, Arkansas that served grades 9 through 12. It was one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and was a part of the Pine Bluff School District effective July 1, 2021. Prior to that point it was the only high school managed by the Dollarway School District. Within the state, the school is often referred to as Pine Bluff Dollarway. It closed as of fall 2023.

Altheimer Unified School District No. 22, previously the Altheimer-Sherrill School District, was a school district headquartered in Altheimer, Arkansas. It served Altheimer, Sherrill, Wabbaseka, and other portions of Jefferson County, including the unincorporated areas of Lake Dick, New Gascony, Pastoria, Plum Bayou, Sweden, Tucker, and Wright. The district in the 1993–2006 period had 333 square miles (860 km2) of territory.

Altheimer-Sherrill High School was a junior and senior high school in Altheimer, Arkansas, United States, operated by the Altheimer-Sherrill School District, and later the Altheimer Unified School District. At the time of its closing it served Altheimer, Sherrill, Wabbaseka, and other portions of Jefferson County, including the unincorporated areas of Tucker, Plum Bayou, Pastoria, and Wright.

Wabbaseka-Tucker School District, previously the Wabbaseka School District No. 7, was a school district in Jefferson County, Arkansas, serving Wabbaseka, Tucker, and Plum Bayou.

Noble Lake is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States.

Pastoria, also known as Pastoria Township, in an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas. It lost population to Sherrill, Arkansas after a rail line bypassed it in the 19th century.

Hardin is an unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. It is located on U.S. Highway 270, 4.6 miles (7.4 km) west-northwest of White Hall.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for PINE BLUFF SCHOOL DISTRICT". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved March 5, 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Murrell, I.C. (May 27, 2021). "Leaders address districts' merger". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Archived from the original on July 9, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ Pickhardt, John B. (Winter 2009). "We Don't Intend to Have a Story: Integration in the Dollarway School District". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly . 68 (4). Arkansas Historical Association: 357–387. JSTOR   40543600. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2021. - Cited page 359.
  4. ↑ Pickhardt, John B. (Winter 2009). "We Don't Intend to Have a Story: Integration in the Dollarway School District". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly . 68 (4). Arkansas Historical Association: 357–387. JSTOR   40543600. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2021. - Cited page 360.
  5. 1 2 3 "ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on July 31, 2017. Note that Plum Bayou consolidated into the Wabbaseka Tucker school district in 1983, the Linwood district consolidated into Pine Bluff in 1984, then the Altheimer-Sherrill and Wabbaseka Tucker school districts consolidated into Altheimer Unified in 1993, which in turn consolidated into Dollarway in 2006, and then will consolidate into Pine Bluff on July 1, 2021. Therefore this district serves Linwood and has done so before the consolidation, and began serving Tucker and Plum Bayou effective July 1, 2021.
  6. ↑ "HIGHER ED NUMBERS UP; PUBLIC SCHOOLS DROP". Pine Bluff Commercial . Pine Bluff, Arkansas. September 9, 2008.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Worthen, John (March 5, 2015). "PB School Board votes 5-1 to shut 2 campuses". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Archived from the original on November 27, 2018. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  8. ↑ "PB School Board buys out superintendent Robinson's contract". The Pine Bluff Commercial . June 27, 2018. Archived from the original on September 30, 2019. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  9. ↑ Dorn, Alicia (August 1, 2018). "PBSD offers 1-year contract to interim super". The Pine Bluff Commercial . Archived from the original on August 2, 2018. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  10. ↑ Dorn, Alicia (September 13, 2018). "STATE TAKES OVER PB SCHOOL DISTRICT". The Pine Bluff Commercial . Archived from the original on January 1, 2020. Retrieved February 24, 2021.
  11. 1 2 Howell, Cynthia (May 23, 2020). "Dollarway's Warren chosen to lead Pine Bluff School District too". Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  12. 1 2 Howell, Cynthia (December 11, 2020). "State votes to combine Dollarway, Pine Bluff schools". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Archived from the original on December 13, 2020. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  13. ↑ "Annexation/Transition FAQ". Pine Bluff School District. Archived from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  14. ↑ Murrell, I.C. (July 18, 2022). "PINE BLUFF SCHOOL DISTRICT: Future of Dollarway High, security addressed". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Retrieved September 17, 2022. - Headline in the print edition is: "Will Dollarway High live on within PBSD?"
  15. ↑ "Arkansas students prepare for school district merger". THV 11 CBS News. May 17, 2023. Retrieved August 27, 2024.
  16. 1 2 3 4 "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved June 29, 2021. - The map shows Dollarway School District as not yet merged into Pine Bluff School District.
  17. ↑ Pickhardt, p. 358. Since the Hardin district joined the Dollarway district, it will in turn join the Pine Bluff district.
  18. 1 2 3 "General Highway Map Jefferson County, Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Transportation. Archived (PDF) from the original on June 29, 2021. Retrieved March 5, 2021. - See locations of Lake Dick, Moscow, New Gascony, Noble Lake, and Sweden
  19. 1 2 "School closures hit a community". The Pine Bluff Commercial. April 11, 2013. Archived from the original on August 4, 2017. Retrieved August 4, 2017. The former Altheimer district included students from Altheimer, Wabbaseka, Sherrill, Tucker, Pastoria, Wright and the Plum Bayou communities. - Alternate location Archived 2016-12-27 at the Wayback Machine at the Arkansas Department of Education (PDF page 3/13)
  20. ↑ "Home Page". July 5, 2002. Archived from the original on July 5, 2002.
  21. ↑ "LEA APPLICATION FORSCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT FUNDS TITLE I, SECTION 1003(g) Belair Middle School" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Education. p. 6. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Murrell, I. C. (March 1, 2023). "Pine Bluff School District will consolidate junior, senior highs this fall". Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  23. 1 2 Murrell, I.C. (March 3, 2023). "Pine Bluff School District stakeholders react to consolidation". Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Retrieved March 3, 2023.
  24. ↑ Murrell, I.C. (August 17, 2023). "New era begins on PBSD's first day". Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  25. ↑ "Home Page". December 5, 2002. Archived from the original on December 5, 2002.
  26. ↑ "Home Page". August 3, 2002. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
  27. ↑ "Home Page". November 23, 2002. Archived from the original on November 23, 2002.
  28. ↑ Murrel, I. C. (June 28, 2021). "Dollarway alumni honor district". Arkansas Democrat Gazette . Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  29. ↑ "Home Page". July 3, 2002. Archived from the original on July 3, 2002.
  30. ↑ "LEA APPLICATION FORSCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT FUNDS TITLE I, SECTION 1003(g) Belair Middle School" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Education. p. 7. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 26, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2021.
  31. ↑ Murrell, I.C. (May 28, 2023). "CLASS OF 2023: Jack Robey to close after 37 years". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette . Retrieved March 18, 2024.
  32. ↑ "Home Page". June 4, 2002. Archived from the original on June 4, 2002.
  33. ↑ "Home Page". June 4, 2002. Archived from the original on June 4, 2002.
  34. ↑ "Home Page". November 15, 2002. Archived from the original on November 15, 2002.
  35. ↑ "Home Page". November 16, 2002. Archived from the original on November 16, 2002.
  36. ↑ "Home Page". August 3, 2002. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
  37. ↑ "Home Page". August 3, 2002. Archived from the original on August 3, 2002.
  38. ↑ "Home Page". November 18, 2002. Archived from the original on November 18, 2002.
  39. ↑ "Home Page". June 30, 2002. Archived from the original on June 30, 2002.

Further reading

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