Twin Rivers School District was a school district in Lawrence, Randolph, and Sharp counties in Arkansas.[1] It was headquartered in the Oak Ridge Central Campus in unincorporated Randolph County, near Ravenden Springs.[2] It served various communities, including Ravenden Springs.[3][4][5]
| Twin Rivers School District | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Lawrence, Randolph, and Sharp counties, Arkansas United States | |
| District information | |
| Grades | K-12 |
| Established | July 1, 2004 |
| Closed | July 1, 2010 |
| Schools | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Website | Official website (archive) |
History
editIt was established on July 1, 2004 by the merger of the Randolph County School District and the Williford School District.[1] The two districts merged because of a law enacted in 2004 requiring smaller school districts to consolidate into larger ones. The Rural School and Community Trust stated that "Twin Rivers supporters say that the district has struggled" from the beginning.[6]
Beginning in the 2007-2008 school year, the district was on academic probation from the Arkansas authorities.[7] The school district was in violation of accreditation standards.[8] On February 5, 2010 the superintendent, David Gilliland, resigned from his position.[7] Harvison failed to inform the school board of the fact that the Arkansas state government was considering closing the school district,[8] and this made parents upset when they discovered the lack of informing.[9]
In February 2010,[6] the Arkansas Board of Education (ADE) voted to take control of the district and dissolve it, giving sections of the district to neighboring districts.[7] The rationale was the lack of accreditation, and this was the first school district in Arkansas to be closed for that reason.[6] A group of parents sued the ADE; the group " Save Our Twin Rivers School District", made up of about 900 people, held fundraisers for the lawsuit.[8] A group of parents leading the Ozark Band of Cherokees Inc. emphasized their Native American heritage in an effort to prevent the state from closing the district. Leslie Newell Peacock of the Arkansas Times wrote that "The closing has been traumatic to parents in the district, many of whom have deep roots in the communities served by the schools and once attended the schools themselves."[9] Supporters lobbied the Arkansas Supreme Court in an attempt to stop the closure.[6]
On July 1, 2010, the district was dissolved. Portions were given to the following school districts: Highland, Hillcrest, Mammoth Spring, Maynard, Pocahontas, and Sloan-Hendrix.[1] Both of the district's schools were closed at the time of the dissolution.[10]
Schools
editIt operated two schools serving grades K-12: Oak Ridge Central Campus in Randolph County and Williford Campus in Williford.[2]
References
edit- ^ a b c "ConsolidationAnnex_from_1983.xls." Arkansas Department of Education. Retrieved on October 21, 2017.
- ^ a b "Contact Us." Twin Rivers School District. Retrieved on October 21, 2017. "Contact Information District Superintendent and Oak Ridge Central Campus 5749 Oak Ridge Road Ravenden Springs, AR 72460 "
- ^ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Lawrence County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 21, 2017. Note that this map reflects the status prior to the 2010 dissolution of the Twin Rivers School District.
- ^ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Randolph County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 21, 2017. Note that this map reflects the status prior to the 2010 dissolution of the Twin Rivers School District.
- ^ "SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP (2010 CENSUS): Sharp County, AR." U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved on October 21, 2017. Note that this map reflects the status prior to the 2010 dissolution of the Twin Rivers School District.
- ^ a b c d "Arkansas Cases Challenge School and District Consolidation". The Rural School and Community Trust. 2010-06-25. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
- ^ a b c Harvison, Josh (2010). "Twin Rivers to be dissolved, names new superintendent". KAIT. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- ^ a b c Curtis, Tammy (2010-05-21). ""Save Our Twin Rivers School District" files lawsuit against ADE". Area Wide News. Retrieved 2017-10-22.
- ^ a b Peacock, Leslie Newell (2010-03-18). "Twin Rivers Indians rise". Arkansas Times. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
- ^ "Minutes State Board of Education Monday, May 10, 2010." Arkansas Board of Education. Retrieved on May 26, 2018. p. 4 (PDF p. 4/10) "Effective July 1, 2010, the Williford and Oak Ridge Central campuses of the Twin Rivers School Districts [sic] shall be closed"
Further reading
edit- "AGENDA STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION May 10, 2010." Arkansas Board of Education. On PDF p. 89/172 there is a map showing the reallocation of Twin Rivers territory to the successor school districts in 2010. This map was prepared by GIS Program Manager Learon Dalby and released on April 5, 2010.
Maps of the predecessor districts:
- "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Lawrence County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download)
- "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Randolph County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download)
- "Arkansas Department of Education school district maps, 1952-1954 Sharp County, 1952-1954". Arkansas Digital Archives. Arkansas State Archives. (Download)
External links
edit- Twin Rivers School District at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Oak Ridge Central Campus at the Wayback Machine (archive index)
- Williford Campus at the Wayback Machine (archive index)