The Langley School history

By 1944, the two groups reunited to form one cooperative preschool called the Langley Cooperative School which included nursery, kindergarten, and first grade.

Through use of the volunteer labor, the school was constructed within a little more than a half of year because the first classes in the new rock school were held in 1945.

Although the voted failed to pass on November 4, 1946, the wheels of consolidation or reorganization in the State of Arkansas were beginning to roll.

Very few districts consolidated following the passage of the legislation in November 1948; therefore, the Arkansas Education Association began pushing another proposal called the Initiated Act, to consolidate school districts with fewer than 400 students.

The gymnasium was completed in 1951, though the rock exterior was still under construction when the gymnasium was first being used for recreation and school athletics.

Langley also began a separate class for 7- and 8-year-olds which became the school’s first full-day session.Langley held its first Spring Fair (the precursor to today’s Fall Fair) in 1954.

A. Medd became the first woman chair of the Langley School Board in 1955.

In 1964, Langley began offering bus service on Dolley Madison Boulevard which had been recently paved as a four-lane highway.

Langley High School opened September 2, 1965.

In 1966 the first kindergarten was introduced at West Langley Elementary.

By June 1968, the first vote on the consolidation of the Langley School District into the Glenwood School District were cast with the vote being split down the middle by those in the Langley School District 74 votes for the consolidation and 75 votes against.

For the next three years, the Kirby School District boarded up the school and gymnasium and let it sit vacant until William O. Davis approached the Kirby School District about purchasing the property and in July 1969 the property was sold to Mr.

Adult education increased in enrolment in Langley, and the first fundamental elementary school was opened in 1975 at Langley Central.

The tradition continued until 1977 when Langley held its first stand-alone auction in the Field House which raised nearly $5,000.

In 1978, Lucy Frank Daoust resigned after 14 years as the school’s director; she was replaced by David Rivers.

Computer report cards were introduced at all seven secondary schools in 1979.

A new High School was built on Maxwelton Road and opened for the 1981/82 school year.

In addition to expanded classroom space, the new buildings contained a math lab, computer lab, foreign language rooms, and fine arts wing.By 1983, Langley completed its gradual double-sectioning plan, ensuring each grade from nursery through eighth had two classes.

The Davis Family continued to own the school and gym until 1984, when they sold the property to Eddy and Charlotte Ayers.

In 1987 the first non-graded secondary school (Langley Education Centre) was initiated.

Pike County Heritage Club, “Langley,” Early History of Pike County, Arkansas: The first one hundred years (Murfreesboro, Arkansas: Pike County Archives and History Society, 1989), 155.

A Strategic Planning Committee was formed in 1990 to develop a policy plan that both affirmed Langley’s rich heritage and moved the school in new directions.

Langley’s first Jazz Band was started, and the school hosted the first annual Langley Instrumental Festival in 1992 which created a forum for more than 200 area student musicians to compete with their peers.

In 1997, Langley opened the Betty Brown Lower School building.

In 2001, the school built the Solomon Athletic Center, a 23,350-square-foot facility featuring two gyms, a weight room, a cardiovascular room, locker rooms, and meeting rooms.

In 2003, Langley developed a Community Contract which reinforced the school’s core values of respect, kindness, honesty, trustworthiness, and citizenship, and helped create a safe learning environment.

In order to maintain small class sizes and a low student/teacher ratio, in 2004 Langley began the process of adding new sections so each grade level included three sections.

Opened in the fall of 2008, the Jeffrey J. Sherman Arts Center featured an auditorium with retractable seating, band, music, and art rooms, and a spacious, light-filled lobby area for students in grades 3-8 to enjoy lunch daily.

In 2009, Langley installed a new turf athletic field named in honor of Athletic Director Jim Gleason.

In 2010, Langley expanded the junior kindergarten program, nearly doubling the instructional time students receive.

The Music Department introduced strings as a music option for Middle Schoolers in 2011, and this enormously popular program has since expanded to include the Lower School.

Langley lengthened the preschool school day in 2013 and began offering after-school enrichment to create a full-day option for our youngest students.

Policies and Procedures Adopted at the May 2014 AGM

Wix-Brown Document found in 2015

The Arkansas State Archives was renamed from the Arkansas History Commission by Act 3 of the Third Extraordinary Session of the 90th General Assembly on July 1, 2016.

On June 6, 2017, Langley Middle School closed and in Fall 2017, the South Whidbey Community Center started a new chapter in these historic buildings.