Watson Chapel School District

Last updated
Watson Chapel School District
Location
4000 Camden Road
Pine Bluff, Arkansas 71603-9094
District information
TypePublic (government funded)
GradesK–12
Schools5
NCES District ID 0513930 [1]
Students and staff
Students2215
Teachers208
Student–teacher ratio14.85
Other information
Website Watson Chapel School District

Watson Chapel School District No. 24 [2] (WCSD) is a public school district serving the communities of Pine Bluff (including Watson Chapel) and Sulphur Springs within Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. [3] 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.[ citation needed ]

Contents

In 1971 the district covered 125 square miles (320 km2) of land. [2]

All schools in the district are accredited by AdvancED (formerly the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools).

History

Initially the Dollarway School District (DSD) sent older white students to Watson Chapel High School and other area high schools, as it did not have its own high school for white students nor one for black students. [4] In 1957 DSD opened its own high school for white children, Dollarway High School. [5]

District Court for Eastern District of Arkansas judge Oren Harris, in 1971, ordered the Watson Chapel School Board to desegregate schools. Prior to that order black students largely attended two schools while white students attended four of them. Under the judge's orders there would be a single high school, Watson Chapel High School, a single middle school, the former Coleman High School/Coleman Elementary School, and four elementary schools. [6]

In 1979 the Jefferson County School District dissolved, with a portion of the students going to the Watson Chapel school district. [7]

In 2007, the ACLU sued the school district because the dress code allegedly denied students their first amendment rights. [8]

Schools

Closed

Demographics

It had 3,871 students in the 1969–1970 school year, with more than half within the city limits of Pine Bluff. That year the four schools for white children had 2,135 white students and 96 black students; the two schools for black children had 1,640 students, with all being black. [2]

In 1971 the schools had 3,750 students, with about 45% of them being black. [6]

Notable alumni

Related Research Articles

<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. 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.

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

Pine Bluff is the eleventh-largest city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Jefferson County. It is the principal city of the Pine Bluff Metropolitan Statistical Area and part of the Little Rock-North Little Rock-Pine Bluff Combined Statistical Area. The population of the city was 49,083 in the 2010 Census with 2019 estimates showing a decline to 41,474.

<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 three public high schools in the Pine Bluff city limits and four 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 High School is a comprehensive public high school in the Watson Chapel School District in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, that serves grades 10 through 12. It is one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and the only high school managed by the Watson Chapel School District. It serves as the main feeder school for Watson Chapel Junior High School.

White Hall High School is a public high school located in White Hall, Arkansas, United States. White Hall serves grades 9–12 for the White Hall School District.

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.

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.

Sulphur Springs, also known as White Sulphur Springs, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Spring Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,032.

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 is an unincorporated community in Bogy township, Jefferson county, Arkansas, 13 miles (21 km) west of Pine Bluff, the county seat. It was founded by French Peninsular War veteran and Indian trader Antoine Barraque on November 29, 1832, and 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 is a comprehensive public high school in northwest Pine Bluff, Arkansas that serves grades 9 through 12. It is one of three public high schools in Pine Bluff and is 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.

Merrill High School was a public secondary school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, operated by the Pine Bluff School District. It was one of four high schools that served black students in the Pine Bluff area until the public schools were integrated in 1971.

Coleman High School was a public secondary school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas established in 1915. It served as a high school for black students until the public schools were integrated in 1971. It was a part of the Watson Chapel School District.

Townsend Park High School was a segregated, all-black high school in Pine Bluff, Arkansas, operated by the Dollarway School District. As a result of the lawsuit Dove v. Parham, it was eventually merged into Dollarway High School.

Hardin is an unincorporated area in Washington Township, Jefferson County, Arkansas.

References

  1. ↑ "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Watson Chapel School District". National Center for Education Statistics . Institute of Education Sciences . Retrieved Sep 4, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "U.S. v. Watson Chapel School District No. 24". Casetext. 1971-08-11. Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  3. ↑ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Jefferson County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on July 31, 2017.
  4. ↑ Pickhardt, John B. (Winter 2009). "We Don't Intend to Have a Story: Integration in the Dollarway School District". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly . Arkansas Historical Association. 68 (4): 357–387. JSTOR   40543600. - Cited page 359.
  5. ↑ Pickhardt, John B. (Winter 2009). "We Don't Intend to Have a Story: Integration in the Dollarway School District". The Arkansas Historical Quarterly . Arkansas Historical Association. 68 (4): 357–387. JSTOR   40543600. - Cited page 360.
  6. 1 2 Franklin, Ben A. (1971-02-06). "Court Warns Arkansas Board to Integrate Schools". The New York Times . Retrieved 2021-02-24.
  7. ↑ Goatcher, Truett (January 1999). "School District Consolidation Will Save Millions of Dollars: Fact of Myth?" (PDF). Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. p. 14 (PDF p. 17/27).
  8. ↑ "ACLU of Arkansas Says Watson Chapel School Dress Code Violates Free Speech". American Civil Liberties Union. 22 February 2007. Retrieved 21 April 2014.

Further reading

Government
General information

Coordinates: 34°11′22″N92°03′59″W / 34.1895°N 92.0664°W / 34.1895; -92.0664

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.