South Side Bee Branch plans for growth

By Sara Greene

LITTLE ROCK — Defying the stereotype of rural school districts being small, Billy Jackson, superintendent of the South Side Bee Branch School District, said enrollment there continues to rise.

The district, which is located in south Van Buren County, serves students in a 113-mile area.

In the four years since Jackson has been at the helm of the district, 60 students have enrolled, which is a rate of about 15 per year, from 490 to 550.

"For me, smaller class size allows for teachers to get more one on one in helping their students. Plus, with a smaller community, not only do the teachers know the students they know their parents," Jackson said.

He said student enrollment may start rising at a faster rate as gas companies exploring the Fayetteville Shale natural gas deposit build more wells in the area and gas company employees move into the community to be close to work.

"We will have well over 600 students in the next five years,"Jackson said.

Jackson said gas companies have invested close to $1.5 billion in the area, which has increased the local tax base for the communities.

According to www.

arkansasfacilities.com, for every academic building the South Side Bee Branch School District builds, the state will reimburse about 60 percent of the construction cost. The funding formula, called the "wealth index," is based on property taxes. If the property taxes in an area are low, schools have less to spend on construction.

All this growth mean more construction for the district's future. The district is buildinga new $325,000, 18,000-squarefoot facility for its Arkansas Better Chance preschool program for 3- and 4 year-olds. Currently the ABC program is housed in the same building as administration, fine arts, auditorium and fourth-graders.

Jackson said preschool is not day care.

"It has been proven that the ABC program is helping young students get ready for school," Jackson said. Getting young children ready for school means academic lessons, like colors and numbers and social lessons such as waiting in line and taking turns.

After the ABC building is complete and students start using it, Jackson said the area where the program used to be will be turned into a distance learning lab, which means students can take courses not offered at the school by sitting in on a video conference taught by a teacher miles away.

"If everything goes well, we hope to finish the ABC facility, expand the cafeteria and in 2009, start a new building for fifth through eighth grade," Jackson said.

South Side Bee Branch High School at a glance: Motto: Teaching Tomorrow Today Mascot: Hornet

Colors: Blue and White Grades: K-12 Enrollment: 532

Number of Teachers: 44 Superintendent: Billy Jackson Principal: Travis Love Dean: Tim Smith Athletics Offered:

Basketball, baseball, softball, track and golf AAA Ranking: 1A Address: 334 South Side Road Phone Number: (501)-654-2242 Web site: http://ssbb.k12.ar.us

River Valley Ozark, Pages 72 on 01/31/2008