Littlefield Unified School District

Littlefield Unified School District No. 9
Location
3490 E. Rio Virgin Road
Beaver Dam, AZ 86432
District information
Type Public
Established 1910
Superintendent Mrs. Lael Calton
Other information
Website www.lusd9.com

Littlefield Unified School District is a PK-12 grade school district headquartered in Beaver Dam, Arizona.

Littlefield Unified's District covers a large geographical area in Mohave County, located in the extreme Northwest corner of the State. The School District serves the unincorporated towns of Beaver Dam, Littlefield, Desert Springs and Scenic, Arizona, including Arvada and Fairview. It has a population of roughly 400 students throughout elementary, junior high and high school. Mount Trumbull and the re-built schoolhouse is part of the School District.

History

The history of Littlefield Unified School District #9 dates back to the early 1900s when a few families in the farming communities of Littlefield and Beaver Dam were holding school in their homes. An adobe building was constructed several hundred feet above the Virgin River in Littlefield and formal education commenced there sometime around 1910.

The 1926-27 school year exhibited a tremendous group of students attending at the one room school in Littlefield. The attendance/grade book is dominated by a few family names: McKnight, Leavitt, Peterson and Reber. The average daily attendance was 13 students.

Not much changed for the next 60 years within the district. Dessie Reber, the school’s only teacher for many years, demonstrates fluctuating enrollment through the 1960s and 1970s in her grade books (anywhere between 5 and 15 students in the entire district). The same prominent community names existed on the rolls during this time with the addition of a few move-ins, such as the Harris and Jones families. Almost all of these family names reside in the area to this day.

There were years during the late 1970s and early 1980s where only one or two students were enrolled at the school. Growth began to occur in the district during the latter part of the 1980s. The one-room school house soon had several modular buildings dotting the perimeter of the property. By 1992 enrollment at the school approached 100 students.

Throughout the 20th century, all students attending the Littlefield School were taught up until 5th or 8th grade. Students then proceeded to Virgin Valley High School in Mesquite, Nevada, where they were able to participate in programs and graduate from an accredited institution. A Certificate of Educational Convenience (CEC) was approved by the County Superintendent authorizing the district to use Arizona funds for tuition of students attending Virgin Valley High School. In the 1991-92 school year, Littlefield Middle School was established, and students in grades 6-8 no longer traveled to Mesquite for further education.

With enrollment steadily climbing, the governing board of the district enlisted the assistance of the newly established Arizona School Facilities Board to assist in the construction of a new school across the Interstate 15 freeway, and in 1996, then-Arizona governor Fife Symington arrived at the Littlefield School with a $3 million check to the district. In 1999, Beaver Dam Elementary opened and a new era began. The Littlefield site was abandoned as students in grades K-8 moved into the new building. It was temporarily used again in the 2000-2001 school year due to increased elementary enrollment, and students were bussed to the newer school for lunch.

Unprecedented student and community growth continued, prompting discussion among the board regarding the prospect of a new high school in Beaver Dam. It was soon determined to build the school, slated for opening in 2003. Students who would be graduating from Beaver Dam High School in 2006 remained at the elementary school their freshman year and all subsequent students would also attend the entirety of their elementary and secondary education within the district.

In 2002, an eight classroom addition was added to the Beaver Dam Elementary School to accommodate continued growth in addition to providing space for the additional secondary students. Two modular buildings were brought from the Littlefield site to Beaver Dam where they were remodeled. This provided four additional classrooms to be utilized by the middle school and high school students.

Beaver Dam High School opened its doors in the fall of 2004. Two additional modular buildings were added to the middle school campus over the next few years in addition to a sport court and locker room facility.

An additional wing was constructed at the high school in 2008 and includes a media center, commons area, and six classrooms. A capital improvement bond was passed by the community shortly thereafter, facilitating the construction of vocational facility, stage, and visiting team locker rooms. Athletic fields and landscaping were also completed at this time.

Today the district serves approximately 400 students residing in Littlefield, Beaver Dam, Desert Springs, Arvada and Scenic. The elementary school, middle school, and high school are all located within walking distance of each other in Beaver Dam.

Governing Board of Education

Current Administration

Former Superintendents

Past Governing Board of Education Members

Schools

Littlefield School

Littlefield School
Location
1 Main Street.
Littlefield, AZ 86432-0670
Information
Type Public
Established 1910
Principal Dr. John P. Broberg
Enrollment 132
Information (928) 347-5796
(928) 347-5795 Fax
Mascot Eagles

Littlefield School was a school that served grades Kindergarten through Eighth. It is part of the Littlefield Unified School District.

Littlefield School was in use from 1910 until 1999 when the new Beaver Dam Elementary was built and ready for use. Past principals included Dr. John P. Broberg, Dr. Steven H. Peterson, Ted Mickelson, Elizabeth Wright, Nancy Jones, Verl Frehner and Brooks Norton, who became the School's first official principal in the 1980s.

See also

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