Dr. Gregory J. Pilewski, the Superintendent of the North Little Rock School District, proposed renaming Seventh Street Elementary School to North Little Rock Six Elementary School, effective in the 2025-2026 school year.

The proposed name change is a nod to the six black teenagers who tried to integrate North Little Rock High School in the fall of 1957.

The story of the North Little Rock Six is largely unheard of as it sits in the shadow of the highly-publicized Little Rock Nine, who famously entered Central High School in Little Rock in 1957. But just across the Arkansas River, in the same year, Mr. Eugene Hall, Mr. Frank Henderson, Mr. William Henderson, Mr. Richard Lindsey, Mr. Gerald Person, and Mr. Harold Smith tried to enter North Little Rock High School. They, too, were met by an angry mob and by the Superintendent, who barred their entrance.

Students at the high school television center created this video and interviewed one of the members of the North Little Rock Six. This link takes you to the video.

Integration did not occur in the North Little Rock School District until the 1964-1965 school year, beginning with first and second grade students. Finally, twenty black students entered North Little Rock High School in the fall of 1966, in which five black students graduated in the following spring.

The Board will vote on the proposed name change at the August 1 Special Board Meeting and Board Workshop.

Mr. Jacob Smith, the Executive Director of Human Resources, provided the Board of Education with information on the vacant positions, particularly teaching positions, ahead of the 2024-2025 school year. As of July 24, there were 21 vacant positions.

The Board of Education approved a proposal from the Athletic Department to increase ticket prices for the upcoming athletic seasons.

Here are the prices:

$7 for 9th-12th grade games (an increase of $2 from last year)

$5 for 7th-8th grade games (an increase of $1 from last year)

Department leaders said the increase will be consistent with other schools in the conference and will provide additional financial support to the Athletic Department.

The North Little Rock School District will no longer accept cash or checks, except for Child Nutrition fees (i.e. meals) and transactions made through the Business & Finance Office. The district has the ability to accept electronic payments using various online platforms. Going cashless and checkless will eliminate students, teachers, and schools from collecting cash payments, will reduce the opportunities for theft and mishandling, and will end returned checks and debt collection.

Dr. Amber Harbin, the Coordinator of Science, Environmental Literacy, Outdoor Education & Advanced Programs, and Dr. Brouke Reynolds, the Coordinator of Innovative Virtual Learning Programs, provided data on the Advanced Placement (AP) test results from the spring 2024 exams.

Students may score a 1-5 on the AP exams. A 3 is considered a passing score.

Based on test results, 53% of AP test takers at North Little Rock High School earned a 3 or more on the exams (an 8% increase from last year). Forty one percent of AP test takers at the Center of Excellence earned a 3 or higher on the exams (a 12% increase from last year).

Advanced Placement (AP) classes are assigned to high school students. This opportunity gives students in grades 9 through 12 a chance to take rigorous, college-level courses with the possibility of earning college credit. Students taking AP classes may earn 5 quality points for an A instead of 4 points by taking the AP Exam.

Email: communications@nlrsd.org
Website: nlrsd.org
Location: 2400 Willow Street, North Little Rock, AR, USA
Phone: (501) 771-8000
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Public-School/North-Little-Rock-School-District-1473918712853177/
Twitter: @nlrsd