education Middle school serves needs of students

By Carol Rolf

Photo by Carol Rolf / Contributing Photographer

Chester Shannon, superintendent of the Jackson County School District, left, and Floyd Parnell, Swifton Middle School principal, show off the middle school playground, which has just been refurbished. Renovations on the bus shop are under way at the school, which was opened in 2006.

ADVERSTISMENT

THREE RIVERS AREA — Students at Swifton Middle School are in a world of their own.

Located in a residential neighborhood just off U.S. 67 in Jackson County, the school is home to 167 fifth-, sixth-and seventh-grade students. The middle school is the result of Jackson County School District’s annexation of the Swifton School District in 2004. The Jackson County School District itself was formed in 1993 when the Tuckerman and Grubbs school districts were consolidated.

Chester Shannon, Jackson County School District superintendent, said the district continued to operate a kindergarten-through-12th-grade campus at Swifton for two years after the annexation, but closed it in 2006. The high school students were assigned to Tuckerman, which houses grades eight through 12. The middle school students were sent to Swifton and housed in the old Swifton High School built in 1918. The elementary school, preK through fourth grade, remains in Tuckerman. A federal Head Start program is also housed on the Swifton campus, serving 13 students.

Shannon, who has been with the district since 2001 and has 28 years of experience in education, said the building was renovated before opening for the 2006-2007 school year. Floyd Parnell, who joined the Jackson County School District 4 1/2 years ago, is principal at the middle school.

“Mr. Parnell retired from the Newport School District after 34 1/2 years,” Shannon said. “I knew he was home raising cattle and doing hay and contacted him about this position. He thought about it, accepted it and has been doing a very good job ever since.”

“We’re very proud of it (the middle school),” Shannon said. “Mr. Parnell is an excellent fit for it.

“Since the middle school opened, I’ve only had one phone call about why we did it. I explained and everything was fine. Everybody seems to be very pleased with the change.”

Shannon said the middle school offers “great academics and meets the social needs of the students. The school even has its own Student Council.

“These students don’t fit with the fourth-graders and they don’t fit with the bigger guys. They fit well with each other.”

Parnell said the middle school has 10 full-time teachers and 10 part-time teachers who are shared among the three campuses. Coaches share duties at the high school and middle school. The middle school also has 9 1/2 support staff members.

The school campus is complete with a high school gymnasium, which has been refurbished. The middle school hosts the George Kell Basketball Tournament there every year. Intramural sports are also conducted in the gym.

The main part of the building is composed of two wings filled with classrooms.

“We updated the fire alarms, painted the floor tiles and installed a new heating and air conditioning system,” Shannon said.

The playground has also been refurbished and new equipment installed.

“The community also uses the playground,” Shannon said.“In a small community such as this, a playground offers something for the kids to do. We also have a tennis court, which is open to the community.”

Shannon said, “This middle school has been well-received. Even though we have to bus some students seven to 10 miles from Tuckerman, everyone has adjusted. We are very pleased with the situation.

“The middle school is an age-appropriate, safe, secure campus,” he said. “And the students’ achievements reflect that environment. Their scores are above the state’s averages. Last year, our sixth-grade students scored 96 proficient or above in math on the Benchmark test. We are very pleased with everything.” - crolf@arkansasonline.com

Three Rivers, Pages 56 on 11/05/2009