Ray Brooks School

Ray Brooks School is a K-12 school in unincorporated Bolivar County, Mississippi, near Benoit, and a part of the West Bolivar Consolidated School District. In September 2015 it had 214 students. Its namesake was its first principal, Ray Brooks; it was originally known as the Nugent Center School,[1] and until 2014 was the only school of the Benoit School District.

Ray Brooks School
Address
1827 Hwy 1

Benoit
,
Mississippi
38725

United States
Coordinates
Information
School typePublic
School districtWest Bolivar Consolidated School District (2014-)
Benoit School District (1959-2014)
GradesK - 12
Websitewww.wbcsdk12.org/ray-brooks-school

History

The school built in 1959, originally served grades 1-12.[1] It was also known as Benoit High School.[2] In 1986 it was redesignated as a Kindergarten through 9th grade school.[1] High school students were assigned to West Bolivar High School of the West Bolivar School District, in Rosedale.[2]

In 1998 the school received its current name.[1] In 1999 it had 320 students,[3] and in 2000 it had 268 students; that year principal Barbara Akon described it as the smallest school in the state.[4]

High school classes resumed in 2000.[2] Linda Coleman, a Democrat member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from Mound Bayou, stated that the costs of transporting children to West Bolivar from Benoit were too high.[5] The first high school class of that generation graduated in 2002.[1] In 2002 the school was the second smallest school in the state.[2]

It was operated by the Benoit School District until July 1, 2014, when that district was consolidated into West Bolivar Consolidated.[6]

References
  1. "Ray Brooks School." West Bolivar Consolidated School District. Retrieved on July 2, 2017.
  2. "Wilson hopes to break out the shoes'." Franklin County Times. January 10, 2002. Retrieved on July 3, 2017.
  3. "Best Practices-Technology: A one-school district in Mississippi proves that size doesn’t matter: Infusion of new technology will give the district’s 320 students all the advantages of larger systems." eSchoolNews. June 1, 1999. Retrieved on July 3, 2017.
  4. Hopkins, Gary (2000). "All Aboard the Success Express: On the Road With the Secretary of Education Day 3". Education World. Retrieved 2017-07-03. - Akon's quote and information about the school are in the right-hand sidebar
  5. Wright, Megan (2012-05-12). "Bill passes to consolidate Delta county's school districts". Mississippi Business Journal. Retrieved 2017-07-03. Coleman noted that West Bolivar and Benoit combined high schools for a time in the 1990s, but said transportation costs were too high.
  6. "School District Consolidation in Mississippi." Mississippi Professional Educators. December 2016. Retrieved on July 2, 2017. Page 2 (PDF p. 3/6).

Further reading


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