The East Tallahatchie School District (ETSD) is a public

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public primary and secondary schools in various nations. North America United States In the U.S, most K–12 public schools function as units of local school districts, wh ...

based in Charleston,

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

(

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

). In addition to Charleston it serves Tippo.

History

For much of the county's history, public education was only for white students. In 1917, Tallahatchie Agricultural High School was opened as a boarding school to educate negro children, and separate schools were maintained for educating black and white children. Before 1970, a dual system of schools, one for black students and another for whites was maintained, although the black school was closed during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

due to a shortage of funding. With the federal case ''

Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education ''Alexander v. Holmes County Board of Education'', 396 U.S. 19 (1969), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court ordered immediate desegregation of public schools in the American South. It followed 15 years of delays to integrate ...

'' in 1970, segregated schools were deemed illegal, so the school district came up with a plan for "integrating" the schools. The chosen plan kept students and teachers segregated by classroom, but bused students back and forth between East Tallahatchie High School and

Allen Carver High School Allen Carver High School was a public secondary school in Charleston, Mississippi, United States. It served as the high school for black students until the public schools were integrated in 1971. History Tallahatchie Agricultural High School was ...

during the day so both schools were technically integrated, although blacks and whites were kept separate. Blacks were not allowed to serve on student government, or as cheerleaders. Many of the black students of Allen Carver protested this arrangement. In response, the sheriff of Tallahatchie County was summoned, and arrested 125 of them, who were briefly incarcerated at the Mississippi State Penitentiary in Parchman. The US Federal Government's

Community Relations Service The Community Relations Service (CRS) is part of the United States Department of Justice. The office is intended to act as a peacemaker "for community conflicts and tensions arising from differences of race, color, national origin, gender, gender id ...

intervened, and eventually convinced the school board to relent. The 125 students who had been arrested were allowed back in school, and given the opportunity to take exams that had been missed. Additionally, the schools were truly integrated at the classroom level, and new elections were held to give black children the opportunity to participate in student government, cheerleading, and the adoption of a new school mascot. In 1992 the district began a project of installing air conditioners in its classrooms, completed by 1993.
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. Charleston High School held its first racially integrated prom in April 2008. This event was the subject of the 2008

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documentary ''

Prom Night in Mississippi ''Prom Night in Mississippi'' is a 2009 Canadian-American documentary film written and directed by Paul Saltzman. The documentary follows a group of 2008 Charleston High School high school seniors in Charleston, Mississippi as they prepare for ...

''. The documentary focused on Charleston High School and the efforts to have a mixed prom instead of the traditional racially

segregated prom A segregated prom refers to the practice of United States high schools, generally located in the Deep South, of holding racially segregated proms for white and black students. The practice spread after these schools were integrated, and persists ...

Schools

* Charleston High School * Charleston Middle School ** In 1999 the band room was renovated. * Charleston Elementary School ** In 1989 the state awarded funding to have a computer lab built. Back then it served Kindergarten through grade 3.
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. ; Former schools * Charleston Upper Elementary School

References

External links

East Tallahatchie School District
{{Education in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi Education in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi School districts in Mississippi

History

Schools

See also

References

External links