Sellars Rd
Smithdale, MS 39664

I moved back to FC as an adult and wanted my family to have the small town experience I did as a child. Unfortunately, I had nothing but problems with the school district starting from when I enrolled my son in kinder and continuing today with my daughter in third grade. For starters, I presume that children are treated based on the small town cliques. Meaning that if you aren't from here, expect to catch hell. The admins at the school are extremely concerned about uniforms, even going as far as suggesting extra belts, etc are kept in the backpack to avoid calls to the parents in the event a belt breaks. However, children of staff can get away with not adhering to the policy as strictly. Further, my son was made to get rid of his mohawk, though numerous other children have them. They even went so far as to take my child's coat during 30 degree weather and this was before a coat policy was in place. Expect your third grader to have triple to quadruple the homework of a sixth grader and to be punished for being human and making mistakes. My daughter is scared to death of the consequences for not doing homework or reading a couple of chapters of her book. Your child will be punished for this. And with the sheer amount of homework sent home, you better hope there are no emergencies that prevent your child's work for being completed. I have attempted to discuss my concerns with teachers only to be dismissed, called a liar, and basically told to get over it. The upper bulding offers some reprieve. However, I recently learned my son is being taught material that was taught in previous years. Social studies was a subject NOT taught at all, but a grade is still given. I just found out that it won't count though. And finally, required reading scores for promotion will be lowered depending on how the school scores as a whole. So, if you're thinking about moving to a dying county with severely limited employment opportunities, I suggest you rethink that decision or look into private or homeschool. But if you're okay with your child being motivated by bullying teachers and punished for being human, then this is the school for you.