CCSD Test Scores Rank Among Best in Region

RISON - For the most part, students in the Cleveland County School District ranked at or near the top of the Southeast Arkansas Education Cooperative service area in regards to the percentage of students scoring what is considered a passing grade on state achievement tests.That news was revealed during the school district's annual Report to the Public held Sept. 15 at the Rison Elementary auditorium. The report included presentations from Cleveland County Head Start, Rison Elementary, Rison High School and Superintendent Davy King.Here is an overview of each report: Head Start Cleveland County Head Start is the only Head Start program in the state that is administered through a school district, director Laura Stanfield said. The program consists of Early Head Start (infants to 3 years old) and Head Start (3 to 5 years old), and has two centers at Rison and one at Woodlawn. Stanfield said the program also offers an infant program funded through Arkansas Better Chance for School Success (ABCSS). The program has a total of 26 employees.Overall, she said Head Start offers five types of programs with 68 Head Start slots, 40 ABCSS slots, 16 Early Head Start slots and 18 infant/toddler slots. There are also 27 slots available for after-school programs.Stanfield said there are 27 children on the waiting list to fill slots that may become available through the Head Start program.Over the past year, Stanfield said they have added a new playground at the Head Start center on the Rison School campus, and have added a cafeteria area as well.Rison Elementary Elementary Principal Angie Hudson said enrollment at the elementary was essentially the same from last year to this year, reporting 352 students enrolled in 2024 compared to 351 this year. The elementary consists of kindergarten through 6th grade.Overall, the school has 23 certified staff members (six of w...