SHERIDAN — The Sheridan School District is undergoing a dramatic shift for this school season.
Not only is the district in the process of major reconstruction, with additions to the high school and future plans for the middle school, but there has also been a shift in new administration.
Former Sheridan High School principal Rodney Williams retired after nine years at the school and 38 years in education. Replacing Williams is Jason Burks, who served as assistant principal at the high school for Williams but has spent the past year as principal down the street at Sheridan Junior High School. Meanwhile, Alisa Gray, who has been the assistant principal at the junior high for the past year, has been promoted to principal for this school year.
“It was a hard decision to make,”
Williams said of his retirement. “There were a lot of positive things happening to the Sheridan School District.
“We passed the millage about a year ago, and a new addition to the high school is going up. It is hard to say just an addition, because it is pretty significant.
“We have a lot of momentum in the district right now, so deciding to retire at such a time was difficult.”
Burks is originally from Benton, having graduated from Benton High School in 1997. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock in 2003 and his master’s degree from Harding University in Searcy in 2009.
He said coming back to the high school to be principal was a good opportunity for him. Sheridan is currently revamping the career and technology education, or CTE, program here, and Burks has background in that field. Lauren Goins, the communication director for the district, said Burks “is really the right person to push the CTE program even further.”
“Mr. Burks is the right person to lead Sheridan High School into the future,” Sheridan School District Superintendent Jerrod Williams said in a statement. “He has served the district for eight years as an administrator, and during that time, he has demonstrated a passion to serve and ambition to grow as a leader.”
Williams said Burks actively participates in leadership development opportunities, such as the Arkansas Leadership Academy, Student Voice and Master Principal.
“He has also worked closely with Principal Rodney Williams and is eager to build upon the foundation that Williams has established,” Jerrod Williams said. “Before Burks was an administrator, he spent several years teaching Career and Technical Education. Burks’ background in CTE will be invaluable to SHS, as we dramatically improve and expand our CTE offerings at the high school.”
Rodney Williams said he thinks Burks will do an outstanding job and has “a bright future in front of him.”
“He is a lot of fun to be around, and he works well with the staff and students,” he said. “He has a sense of humor. I think he will do great.”
Burks said Williams was like his mentor, and they had a great relationship. He said it is exciting to come in behind someone who has done such a great job and just to be able to build upon it.
“It is really exciting,” Burks said. “We are going to introduce Kohler academy, which will have the same equipment that is at the Kohler plant here.
“[Students] are going to learn how to use the equipment and get some really great hands-on experience. We have a lot of additions to our CTE offerings that are really going have a lot of opportunities for students with different classes.”
Williams is originally from Bearden, having graduated from high school in 1976. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Henderson State in 1980 and also earned his master’s degree from the school.
The majority of his career was spent at Fairview High School, where he worked for 28 years. He was a football coach and math teacher. He stayed in coaching until 1997, when he decided to become the assistant principal at Camden Fairview Junior High School. He was later promoted to the principal job in 1999 and was there until 2009, when he became the principal at Sheridan High School.
“Our kids were both out of high school and in college, and they were both in[central Arkansas],” Williams said. “So I guess we were empty nesters. We just wanted to venture out and get closer to our kids.
“Sheridan seemed like an ideal location to do that.”
Williams has been married to his wife, Chris, for 38 years, and they have two children: a son, Aaron, and a daughter, Malory Watson. Chris was a teacher at East End Elementary School before she retired this year. He and his wife currently live in East End.
“The biggest enjoyment of every principal is working with kids,” Williams said. “There is a lot of satisfaction of working with kids and supporting kids, and trying to help them reach their full potential and achieve success at whatever level that might be for each person.”
Sheridan High School is building a two-story addition, as well as renovating the auditorium and constructing a multipurpose gym. The cost for the renovations will be more than $21 million, with the district paying nearly $16 million. Sheridan residents passed a 3.8 millage increase in 2016 to help fund the improvements.
“[The construction] has had minimal impact, as far as the learning environment, but there is a lot of excitement,” Burks said. “Teachers are excited about the new addition to the high school.”
Goins said she shares that excitement about the construction.
“To see the future right out of the window and see the progress, see what it is going to look like — it is really neat,” Goins said.
Burks is starting his 14th year in education, having spent a year at Jacksonville High School and four years at Benton as a CTE high school teacher. He has a marketing degree and started with a sales and marketing job, but he wasn’t happy with it. He found out about the nontraditional license program through the department of education and decided to pursue it.
“I enjoy working with the kids and impacting students’ lives,” Burks said. “Going into administration, it just felt like the next logical step in my career.
“When I was talking about getting my master’s degree, my principal suggested that going into administration would be a good fit for me in the future. So that is what I got my degree in, and it just naturally progressed into my career.”
Burks and his family live in Sheridan. He has been married to his wife, Rebecca, for 13 years, and they have two children, a daughter, Brooklyn, 7, and a son, Bennett, 3. Burks said that as principal, he just looks forward to being able to increase the school’s CTE offerings and industry certifications, such as Microsoft Office and other certifications.
“I think it is important for us to have all different kinds of offerings,” Burks said. “I think it is important to show them all the avenues that are available when they graduate.”
The junior high currently houses seventh- to ninth-graders, but this will be the last year for that. When the construction is completed at East End Middle School, the current junior high will split into two middle schools — moving the ninth-graders to the second floor of the new high school. The project is expected to be completed in May of next year and will open for the 2019-2020 school year.
The current junior high will become Sheridan Middle School, and the classrooms will be in the back of the building, plus portables, as the school will undergo major renovations as well.
“This year will be full of changes, or at least preparing for the changes with planning and staffing, and preparing the kids for the transition,” Gray said. “It is going to be an interesting transition.
“Lots of conversation is already happening for 2019-20.”
Prior to last year, Gray spent the majority of her career at East End Elementary School. She has served as dean of students for three years and, before that, was a math instructional facilitator for the district, housed in that school.
“My journey was a little different from other people because it wasn’t really intentional,” Gray said. “When I was asked to be the dean of students at the elementary school, I worked real close with the principal.
“I think [becoming principal] was just the next step, working with and helping teachers in a different light. I wanted to make a bigger difference within the school.”
Gray is originally from Bertrand, Missouri, and she graduated from Charleston (Missouri) High School in 1984. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Arkansas State University in Jonesboro in 1988 and a master’s degree from Henderson State University in Arkadelphia in 2017.
“Mrs. Gray is already proving to be an effective educational leader at Sheridan Junior High,” Jerrod Williams said. “Her professional, strong organizational skills and passion to make a difference in the lives of students make Mrs. Gray an ideal fit for the role of SJHS principal.
“With more than 24 years of experience in various roles in the Sheridan School District, Mrs. Gray possess a broad perspective on how to promote a positive school culture.”
She said she didn’t think she was ever going to be a principal and waited till she was about 50 before she said, “OK, let’s try this.”
“I have been working with children since I graduated high school, as a camp counselor,” Gray said. “Working with kids and seeing them make gains and achieve — it was very gratifying.
“It was always about the kids and working with them.”
Gray’s very first job was in Tyronza, Arkansas, where she taught junior high school special education. After a year, she took a job with the Little Rock School District as a first-grade teacher. She said she has worked at the elementary school level for her entire career, except for her first year and her current position.
“It is kind of funny to come back full circle, ending up in junior high,” Gray said. “Why do I stay here? Because I am wanting to make a difference for all the kids and help them be successful.”
Gray has been married to her husband, Steve, for 29 years, and together, they have three daughters, Ashleigh, Allison and Alex. Ashleigh is an occupational therapist living in Springfield, Missouri; Allison is a PE teacher and volleyball coach in Springdale; and Alex is a sophomore at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville, studying nursing. Alisa Gray and her husband live in East End.
“It has really not been overwhelming,” Gray said of her new position. “I have had a really good support system, and it has made the change much easier.
“Now that we are in the school year, it is kind of settling in a little bit. The staff has been wonderful, very supportive, and they are excited for the year.
“It makes it all worth it.”
Staff writer Sam Pierce can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or spierce@arkansasonline.com.