Benton County School District

The Benton County School District is a public school district based in Ashland, Mississippi (USA). The district's boundaries parallel that of Benton County.

History

Ashland Academy was established in Ashland in 1882. Reverend Enoch Wines was the school's first principal. W. P. Gunn also served as principal of the school.^[1]

F. S. Abney was Ashland High School's principal in 1915.^[2] After the school was integrated, many white students left the school.^[3]

As of 1965 the school calendar began in the mid-summer but then, in order to allow pupils to assist in the agricultural economy, dismissed for a month or longer in a "split session".^[4]

Segregated schools in the county were more equalized than in other places.^[4]

Schools

• Ashland Middle/High School (Grades 6-12)
• Ashland Elementary School (Grades K-5)
• Hickory Flat Attendance Center (Grades K-12)

In 1964 (prior to the end of racial segregation) the district had a school for whites in Ashland, a school for whites in Hickory Flat, and a school for blacks in Old Salem. Unlike other areas, the Old Salem school, renovated in 1959, was at the time the school with the highest level of modernization, and there was less inequality between the white and black schools compared to other areas.^[4]

Demographics

2006-07 school year

There were a total of 1,340 students enrolled in the Benton County School District during the 2006–2007 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 50% female and 50% male. The racial makeup of the district was 52.01% African American, 46.34% White, 1.19% Hispanic, and 0.45% Asian.^[5] 87.2% of the district's students were eligible to receive free lunch.^[6]

Previous school years

School Year	Enrollment	Gender Makeup		Racial Makeup
		Female	Male	Asian	African American	Hispanic	Native American	White
2005-06[5]	1,346	48%	52%	0.67%	53.42%	1.93%	–	43.98%
2004-05[5]	1,339	48%	52%	–	57.06%	1.94%	–	41.00%
2003-04[5]	1,309	48%	52%	–	57.83%	1.53%	–	40.64%
2002-03[7]	1,254	47%	53%	–	59.72%	1.67%	–	38.60%

Accountability statistics

	2006-07[8]	2005-06[9]	2004-05[10]	2003-04[11]	2002-03[12]
District Accreditation Status	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited	Accredited
School Performance Classifications
Level 5 (Superior Performing) Schools	0	0	0	0	0
Level 4 (Exemplary) Schools	2	1	0	1	0
Level 3 (Successful) Schools	1	2	2	2	3
Level 2 (Under Performing) Schools	0	0	1	0	0
Level 1 (Low Performing) Schools	0	0	0	0	0
Not Assigned	0	0	0	0	0

See also

• List of school districts in Mississippi

References

1. "Biographical and Historical Memoirs of Mississippi: Embracing an Authentic and Comprehensive Account of the Chief Events in the History of the State and a Record of the Lives of Many of the Most Worthy and Illustrious Families and Individuals". Goodspeed. May 31, 1891 – via Google Books.
2. "Mississippi Educational Advance ..." May 31, 1914 – via Google Books.
3. DeBerry, Roy; Futorian, Aviva; Klein, Stephen; Lyons, John (July 23, 2020). Voices from the Mississippi Hill Country: The Benton County Civil Rights Movement. Univ. Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781496828835 – via Google Books.
4. Bolton, Charles C. The Hardest Deal of All: The Battle Over School Integration in Mississippi, 1870-1980. University Press of Mississippi, 2007. ISBN 9781934110744. p. 145.
5. "Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on March 23, 2007.
6. "2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data" (XLS). Mississippi Department of Education. January 16, 2008. Retrieved May 17, 2008. ^{[dead link‍]}
7. "Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003". Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education. September 2, 2004. Archived from the original on August 12, 2007. Retrieved August 31, 2007.
8. "2007 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 13, 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2007. Retrieved September 15, 2007.
9. "2006 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 6, 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 17, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
10. "2005 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 9, 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 13, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
11. "2004 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. September 26, 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 5, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2007.
12. "2003 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. November 21, 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 11, 2006. Retrieved May 7, 2007.

External links

• Official website