R. H. Bearden Elementary School is a public elementary school in unincorporated Tallahatchie County, Mississippi, near Sumner. - Compare to the Sumner city limits It is a part of the West Tallahatchie School District.
In addition to Sumner, the district also serves the communities of Tutwiler, Webb, and Glendora. Additionally it includes the unincorporated areas of Brazil, Philipp, and Vance. The parts of the Mintner City area in Tallahatchie County are in the West Tallahatchie district. The school is named in honor of Rogers H. Bearden, a longtime educator and administrator in the West Tallahatchie School District.[https://billstatus.ls.state.ms.us/documents/2005/html/SR/SR0036PS.htm Senate Resolution 36 (As Adopted by Senate)]
Students matriculate to West Tallahatchie High School.
History It was previously the "West District School", or West District Middle School, and was grade 6-8. - Clipping from Newspapers.com. Prior to 1988 it only had middle school levels. Beginning in 1988 it began serving grades 3-8 and served Sumner and Webb for the upper elementary grades. - Clipping from Newspapers.com. By 1995 its name changed from West District Middle School to Bearden School. - Clipping from Newspapers.com. In July 1997 the school had about 700 students, - Clipping of page 1 and Clipping of page 12, Newspapers.com. and in November 1997 it had 576 students. - Clipping of first and second pages from Newspapers.com. That year the district closed Sumner Elementary and moved its remaining students to Bearden, and in turn moved 7th grade students to West Tallahatchie High. The district planned to build 10 new classrooms at Bearden to accommodate more students.
In 2003 it was featured in the PBS documentary A Tale of Two Schools which focused on its methods of teaching reading, along with those of Maudrie M. Walton Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas. - Clipping from Newspapers.com.
References
External links R. H. Bearden Elementary School