West Tallahatchie School District

The West Tallahatchie School District (WTSD) is a public school district with its headquarters in the Charles M. George Facility for Educational Services in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi (USA), adjacent to Sumner. ^[1]

In addition to Sumner, the district also serves the communities of Tutwiler, Webb, and Glendora. ^[2] Additionally it includes unincorporated areas of Brazil, ^[3] Philipp, ^[4] and Vance. ^[3] The parts of the Mintner City area in Tallahatchie County are in the West Tallahatchie district. ^{[2] [5]}

History

In 1993 most classrooms were not air conditioned. ^[6]

In 1997 the district got little money from local taxation, and it reported that it had a shortage of qualified teachers. Superintendent Reggie Barnes asked area housing authorities to build affordable housing next to West Tallahatchie High School so area teachers had affordable housing. ^[7]

In 1999 there were two schools in the district, and both received intercom systems and were given a $1,071,000 renovation. ^[8]

In 2022, West Tallahatchie High School received an award from GreatSchools.org as a College Success-Gold Honoree for its success in preparing its students for life and enrollment in both two-year and four-year colleges and universities, respectively. ^[9]

Schools

• West Tallahatchie High School (7-12) – In a unincorporated area near Webb. ^[10]
• R. H. Bearden Elementary School (K-6) – Previously the "West District School", ^[11] or West District Middle School. ^[12]

Former schools

• Black Bayou Elementary School (Glendora) – Served Kindergarten through grade 6 for southern portions of the school district. ^[13] Cathy Hayden of The Clarion Ledger described the facility, adjacent to a radio antenna and with little signage that indicated its purpose, as "small". ^[7] In 1989 the state awarded funding to have a computer lab built. ^[14] In 1997 it had 210 students and eight teachers. ^[7] Due to the expense of operating the school and because its students were unable to access programs available to students going to school in Sumner due to geographic distance, district leadership that year began proposing closing Black Bayou Elementary. ^[15] The district decided to close the school in 1998. ^[16] By 2004 it became a head start center of the organization Institute for Community Services (ICS). ^[17]
• Brazil Consolidated School – It was previously a part of the Brazil Consolidated School District. ^[18] Brazil formerly had its own school, with the final building built for $50,000 in 1936. ^[19] In the 1940s the district made plans to build an expansion. ^[20] The previous Brazil school was destroyed by a fire. ^[21] Due to under enrollment, as the school had 40 students registered in 1965, it was closed that year. ^[19] That year the school district put it up for sale. ^[22]
• East District Elementary School – Grades 3-4 ^[12]
• Hopson Bayou Elementary School (Tutwiler) - Served Kindergarten through grade 6. ^[13] It closed as a zoned school in 1993 and became an alternative school for troubled youth. ^[6] In 1997 the district closed the Hopson Bayou campus and moved the alternative school to the former Sumner Elementary. ^[15]
• Philipp Consolidated School (Philipp) – By 1957 the property was for sale ^[23]
• Sumner Elementary School (Sumner) – Served Kindergarten through grade 2 for Sumner and Webb. ^[13] By spring 1997 it became a kindergarten through grade 1 school. ^[15] In 1997 it had 203 students. ^[7] It closed in 1997 with all students transferred to Bearden School, and the district moved the alternative school to the former Sumner Elementary. ^[15]

Demographics

As of November 1997, 99% of the students were black and 1% was white. As of that time, 92% qualified for buying lunches at reduced or no expense. ^[7] In 1999 there were 1,500 students. ^[24]

2007-08 school year

There were a total of 947 students enrolled in the West Tallahatchie School District during the 2007–2008 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 53% female and 47% male. The racial makeup of the district was 99.89% African American and 0.11% Hispanic. ^[25]

Previous school years

School Year	Enrollment	Gender Makeup		Racial Makeup
		Female	Male	Asian	African American	Hispanic	Native American	White
2006-07 [25]	1,032	53%	47%	–	99.90%	0.10%	–	–
2005-06 [25]	1,034	51%	49%	–	99.10%	0.10%	–	–
2004-05 [25]	1,145	52%	48%	0.09%	99.30%	0.09%	–	0.52%
2003-04 [25]	1,152	51%	49%	0.17%	99.48%	0.17%	–	0.17%
2002-03 [26]	1,208	51%	49%	0.17%	99.25%	0.17%	–	0.41%

Student achievement

In 1997 the graduation rate was 86%. ^[7] The class of 1999 was the only class of the 1990s decade to graduate 100% of the seniors that enrolled.

Accountability statistics

	2007-08 [27]	2006-07 [28]	2005-06 [29]	2004-05 [30]	2003-04 [31]	2002-03 [32]
District Accreditation Status	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited
School Performance Classifications
Level 5 (Superior Performing) Schools	No School Performance Classifications Assigned	0	0	0	0	0
Level 4 (Exemplary) Schools		0	0	0	0	0
Level 3 (Successful) Schools		1	1	0	0	0
Level 2 (Under Performing) Schools		1	1	2	1	2
Level 1 (Low Performing) Schools		0	0	0	1	0
Not Assigned		0	0	0	0	0

Other facilities

The Charles M. George Facility for Educational Services, the headquarters of WTSD, was dedicated on July 23, 1995. Charles M. George, the headquarters' namesake, was a principal and a superintendent of the district. ^[33]

As per the Mississippi Critical Teacher Shortage Act of 1998, a duplex was built for $200,000 next to West Tallahatchie High School. Priority was for district teachers but people not employed by the district are welcome to rent. In 2015 Monique Harrison-Henderson of The Hechinger Report stated "In the end, instead of being an exciting recruitment tool, the duplex has been filled in recent years by people with no direct ties to the school system." ^[34]

See also

• Mississippi portal
• Schools portal

• List of school districts in Mississippi
• LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton

References

1. "Directions". West Tallahatchie School District. Retrieved 2021-05-20. School district office · Charles M. George Facility for Educational Services, 1096 West Friendship Road - Map searches show that address as having a Sumner address, but outside of the Sumner city limits.
2. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Tallahatchie County, MS" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau . Retrieved 2021-05-20.
3. "About WTSD". West Tallahatchie School District. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
4. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Philipp
5. "Minter City". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey.
6. "Schools preparing for start of classes". The Charleston Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 70, no. 31. Charleston, Mississippi. 1993-08-05. p. A1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
7. Hayden, Cathy (1997-11-22). "Tracking Teachers for Poorest of Poor: Wisely cast net lands Delta educators". Clarion Ledger . pp. 1A, 16A. - Clipping of first and second pages from Newspapers.com.
8. "Local schools to resume classes". Charleston Sun-Sentinel . 1999-07-22. p. 2. - Clipping at Newspapers.com.
9. "West Tally lauded on college readiness honors list | The Sun-Sentinel". www.tallahatchienews.ms. Retrieved 2022-04-23.
10. "West Tallahatchie High School". West Tallahatchie School District. Retrieved 2021-05-20. West Tallahatchie High School 2104 High School Road Webb, MS 38966 - Compare to the map of the city of Webb and it is apparent the school is outside of the city limits.
11. "R. H. Bearden Elementary School". West Tallahatchie School District. Retrieved 2021-05-20.
12. "County schools to resume classes soon". Charleston Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 64, no. 31. 1987-08-13. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
13. Mikell, Ray S. (1988-08-14). "West Tallahatchie students face longer classes, new staff". The Greenwood Commonwealth . Greenwood, Mississippi. p. 7A. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
14. "Charleston, Glendora schools to receive computer facilities". Charleston Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 66, no. 25. 1989-06-22. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
15. "School bells to ring out start of 1997-98 session". The Charleston Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 74, no. 31. 1997-07-31. pp. 1, 12. - Clipping of page 1 and Clipping of page 12, Newspapers.com.
16. "West Tallahatchie schools launch building projects". The Charleston Sun-Sentinel . 1998-02-12. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
17. McFerrin, Clay (2004-04-22). "Ground Broken for ICS Center". Charleston Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 81, no. 17. pp. 1, 8. - Clipping of first and second page from Newspapers.com.
18. "[...]State of Mississippi, in witness whereof[...]". The Sun-Sentinel . Vol. 5, no. 15. Charleston, Mississippi. 1924-07-17. p. 2. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
19. "Brazil School to Close". The Sumner Sentinel . Vol. 56, no. 49. 1965-06-17. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
20. "Notice to Contractors". The Greenwood Commonwealth . 1947-02-24. p. 4. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
21. "Brazil School to be Erected Soon". The Clarksdale Press Register . 1936-09-25. p. 1. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
22. "Notice of Sale". The Sumner Sentinel . 1965-09-16. p. 4. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
23. "Notice for Sale". The Sumner Sentinel . Vol. 48, no. 52. 1957-07-18. p. 4. - Clipping from Newspapers.com
24. "Delta Blues". Education Week . 1999-05-26. Retrieved 2021-06-08.
25. "Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on 2007-03-23.
26. "Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003" (PDF). Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education. 2004-09-02. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
27. "2008 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2007-10-09. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-10-24.
28. "2007 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2007-09-13. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
29. "2006 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2006-09-06. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
30. "2005 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2005-09-09. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
31. "2004 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2004-09-26. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
32. "2003 Results". Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2003-11-21. Archived from the original (XLS) on 2011-08-07. Retrieved 2007-06-24.
33. "District Office." West Tallahatchie School District. Retrieved on October 15, 2010.
34. Harrison-Henderson, Monique (2015-09-27). "For rural districts, housing not enough to attract teachers". Hechinger Report . Retrieved 2021-06-09.

Further reading

• "Bearden Elementary". A Tale of Two Schools. PBS.

External links

• West Tallahatchie School District
• West Tallahatchie School District (Archive)
• R.H. Bearden Elementary School