White Hall School District

For the school district in Wisconsin, see Whitehall School District.

White Hall School District
Address
1020 West Holland Avenue White Hall , Arkansas, 71602-9572 United States
Coordinates	34°17′08″N 92°06′26″W
District information
Type	Public
Grades	K through 12th Grade
Superintendent	Gary Williams
Accreditation	AdvancED
Schools	Elementary 4 Middle 1 High 1
NCES District ID	0514140[1]
Other information
Schedule	M-F except state holidays
Website	whitehallsd.org

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 (North Central Association of Colleges and Schools).

The district is headquartered in the Julius S. Brown Administration Building in White Hall. The district serves White Hall and a portion of Pine Bluff. It boundaries include the Jefferson County Industrial Park.^[2] In addition to White Hall and portions of Pine Bluff, the district also serves Redfield, and Jefferson.^[3][4]

History

Initially the Dollarway School District (DSD) sent older white students to White Hall High School and other area high schools, as it did not have its own high school for white students nor one for black students.^[5] In 1957 DSD opened its own high school for white children, Dollarway High School.^[6] In 1979 the Jefferson County School District dissolved, with a portion of the students going to the White Hall school district.^[7]

For a period of time the number of students increased. From the 2007-2008 school year to the 2008-2009 school year, the number of students fell by 82. This reflected economic problems in the Arkansas Delta region, meant that the population was down to levels circa 1998 and was the largest decrease thus far in the period 2004-2009.^[8]

In 2017 Jack Foster, a former alderman of the City of Pine Bluff, argued that the setup of the WHSD boundaries is preventing the DSD from getting necessary funding. The superintendent of WHSD, Larry Smith, stated that Foster's criticism was based on a misunderstanding as the state government had determined the school district boundaries, not the districts themselves.^[2]

Schools

Secondary schools:

• White Hall High School
• White Hall Middle School

Elementary schools:

• Ida Mae Gandy Elementary School
• M. A. Hardin Elementary School (Redfield)
• Moody Elementary School
• Taylor Elementary School

See also

• Arkansas Department of Education
• No Child Left Behind Act of 2001
• Rehabilitation Act of 1973

References

1. "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for White Hall School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved November 23, 2015.
2. "Former PB alderman calls WHSD boundaries unfair". Pine Bluff Commercia. June 7, 2017. Retrieved July 31, 2017.
3. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Jefferson County, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved June 29, 2021. - The map shows Dollarway School District as not yet merged into Pine Bluff School District.
4. "General Highway Map Jefferson County, Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 25, 2021. - See location of Jefferson.
5. 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. - Cited page 359.
6. 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. - Cited page 360.
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. "HIGHER ED NUMBERS UP; PUBLIC SCHOOLS DROP". Pine Bluff Commercial. Pine Bluff, Arkansas. September 9, 2008.

Further reading

• "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Jefferson County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download) - Includes boundaries of the White Hall district in the 1950s and predecessor districts

External links

Government

• Official website

General information

• White Hall School District at Ballotpedia