DeWitt School District
Location
1841 S. Grandview Drive, DeWitt, AR 72042
Arkansas
United States
District information
TypePublic (government funded)
Schools4
NCES District ID0500001[1]
Students and staff
Students1,362[1]
Teachers127.77[1]
Staff222.77[1]
Student–teacher ratio10.66[1]
Other information
Websitewww.dewittdragons.net

DeWitt School District No. 1 is a school district based in the town of DeWitt, Arkansas, United States. The DeWitt School District is geographically the state's largest school district with 872.29 square miles (2,259.2 km2) of land and 46.18 square miles (119.6 km2) of water, encompassing portions of Arkansas and Jefferson, and Desha counties.[2][3]

It operates three schools, including DeWitt High School, DeWitt Middle School, and DeWitt Elementary School.

Service area

The municipalities it serves include DeWitt, Almyra, Gillett, Saint Charles,[2] and Humphrey.[2][3]

Additionally the district includes unincorporated areas: Arkansas Post,[4] Bayou Meto, Crocketts Bluff, Eldridge Corner, Ethel,[5] Nady,[6] One Horse Store,[5] Point Deluce,[7] Reydell,[8] Stinking Bay, and Tichnor.[5] Some areas with "Altheimer, Arkansas" postal addresses may be in the district boundaries.

The 2010 U.S. Census indicated the district included a portion of Lincoln County, but in the 2020 U.S. Census that area was shown as being in Jefferson County.[9]

The 2010 census also indicated the district included a portion of Desha County,[10] but in 2020 that portion was indicated as now being in Arkansas County (while still being in the DeWitt school district).[11]

History

By the 1950s a school district in Jefferson County had been annexed into the DeWitt district.[12]

In 1966 the Arkansas County School District dissolved, with portions going to the DeWitt school district and others going to the St. Charles School District and other districts.[13]

On July 1, 1985, the St. Charles district consolidated into the DeWitt district. On July 1, 2004, the Gillett School District and the Humphrey School District consolidated into the DeWitt district.[14]

DeWittSt. CharlesGillettHumphrey
DeWittGillettHumphrey
DeWitt

Schools

Secondary schools:

  • DeWitt High School is a comprehensive public high school for students in grades 9 through 12. In 2007-2008 it had approximately 350 students and 35 teachers. Ethnically, the school is 81% Caucasian, 18% African-American, and less than 1% Hispanic with very few students of other backgrounds. DeWitt High School is a closed campus. Students are not allowed to leave campus without permission to sign out. During school year, the school day runs from 8 AM to 3:15 PM, Monday through Friday. DeWitt High School's mascot is the Dragon. Its colors are blue and gold. Lunch and breakfast are served daily.
  • DeWitt Middle School, located in DeWitt and serving more than 300 students in grades 6 through 8.

Primary schools:

  • DeWitt Elementary School, located in DeWitt and serving students in kindergarten through grade 5.
    • Previously known as Southside Elementary School,[15] it had 480 students in 2012.

Former schools:

  • Gillett High School (closed in 2009)[16]
  • Gillett Elementary School, located in Gillett, serving prekindergarten through grade 5.[17]
    • The final facility was built in the 1950s. In 2010 the school had 81 students, and in 2012 the school had 74 students. In 2012 the DeWitt School District board voted in favor of closing Gillett Elementary, but it had to ask the Arkansas Board of Education for approval of the closure.[16] The state board denied the closure request 5-2.[17] Several area donors promised to raise $68,000 per year to keep the school open.[16]
  • Humphrey Elementary School[18] - Closed in 2009[6]

Student body and staff

As of 2014 the district had about 1,264 students, with most of them originating from Arkansas County. The highest enrollment occurred around 2008-2009, when the student population exceeded 1,600.[19]

In 2014 the district had 77 classified employees and 110 licensed employees.[19]

Notable alumni

  • Winston Bryant—Politician; former Arkansas Secretary of State, Lt. Governor, and Attorney General

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Dewitt School District". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved December 15, 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Arkansas County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 24, 2018.
  3. 1 2 "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Jefferson County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 24, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Arkansas County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download) - Indicates the location of Arkansas Post
  5. 1 2 3 "General Highway Map Arkansas County, Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved March 4, 2021. - See Bayou Meto, Crocketts Bluff, Eldridge Corner, Ethel, Stinking Bay, and Tichnor on the map.
  6. 1 2 Brantley, Max (April 28, 2009). "Another school gone UPDATE". Arkansas Times. Retrieved May 24, 2018. Imagine this: students from rural Nady, Arkansas must ride a bus approximately 22 miles to DeWitt.
  7. ↑ "Home". Southside Elementary School. Archived from the original on August 6, 2002. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Wayback Machine. [...]living within the DeWitt, Almyra, Bayou Meto, Crocketts Bluff, Ethel, Pt. Deluce, Reydel, and St. Charles communities. - The text is a white color on a white background and may need to be selected by the user. As Southside Elementary, now DeWitt Elementary, is a part of the school district, by extension the school district includes these communities.
  8. ↑ "General Highway Map Jefferson County, Arkansas" (PDF). Arkansas Department of Transportation. Retrieved February 25, 2021. - See Reydell on the map.
  9. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Lincoln County, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved July 20, 2022. - Text list - The 2010 map (text list) indicated a portion was served by the DeWitt School District, but that section shown as being in the DeWitt school district and in Lincoln County in the 2010 map is shown as being in the DeWitt district and in Jefferson County in the 2020 map.
  10. ↑ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Desha County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on May 24, 2018.
  11. ↑ "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Desha County, AR" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 11, 2023.
  12. ↑ "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Jefferson County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. Retrieved February 28, 2021. (Download)
  13. ↑ Goatcher, Truett (January 1999). "School District Consolidation Will Save Millions of Dollars: Fact of Myth?" (PDF). Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators. p. 11 (PDF p. 14/27).
  14. ↑ "Consolidation/Annexations of LEA's (1983-June 30, 2012)." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on July 31, 2017.
  15. ↑ "2003-04 Arkansas Education Directory." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on August 2, 2017. p. 62 (PDF p. 72/163).
  16. 1 2 3 Brawner, Steve (October 9, 2012). "Gillett School To Stay Open". Talk Business & Politics. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  17. 1 2 "Arkansas Education Board Blocks Closure Of Gillett Elementary School". Southwest Times Record. October 9, 2012. Retrieved August 2, 2017.
  18. ↑ "Humphrey Elementary School." DeWitt School District. February 6, 2009. Retrieved on May 24, 2018. "112 West South Avenue Humphrey, Arkansas 72078"
  19. 1 2 "Executive Summary DeWitt School District Archived 2017-08-02 at the Wayback Machine." AdvancED. March 21, 2014. p. 2 (PDF p. 4). Retrieved on August 2, 2017.

Further reading

This includes maps of predecessor districts:

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