History of Sloan-Hendrix

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In 1891, the Board of Trustees at Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas, made a recommendation to the Constitution to formulate a plan to build affiliated academies. The recommendation was adopted unanimously and the amendment to the Constitution was written as Article XII. Sloan-Hendrix Academy was accepted in 1899, supported by the Methodist Church.

Objective of the Academies

1. sustain the most friendly relationships with public schools.
2. be generous in encouraging the higher educational institutions of the State. The Principals are willing to correlate with any reputable college and the State University so that the graduate of an academy can enter without examination if the college sees fit to accredit the academy.

3. not be conducted on narrow sectarian lines, will not proselyte*

* additional objectives were made from time to time.

Sloan-Hendrix Academy, named after Capt. W.C. Sloan, was established in 1899 under authorization provided by the Constitution of Hendrix College. It was the second of five affiliated academies to be established but was the longest lived. Until 1931, it operated under sponsorship of the North Arkansas Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. The citizens of Imboden, Arkansas, provided the campus and money to secure the buildings and equipment needed to meet the approval of the Board of Trustees of Hendrix College. The first campus was located at the southeast end of the town. In 1923 it was relocated to a farm on the northwest end of the town.

Church Relationships

The school closed February, 1910, and remained closed the 1910-1911 school year because of a lack of funds. After the reopening of the Academy, the Church Conference exercised many instances of initiative and farsighted leadership in promoting it. The schools funds were provided by the Church Conference assessments. Students were to abide in Christianly ways while attending Sloan-Hendrix Academy.

Along with academics, the Academy offered music and athletics to its students. At one time the school fielded a football team and has competed in basketball since 1909. The first edition of The Greyhound, the news publication of the school, was printed in October of 1921.

As a public institution, Sloan-Hendrix remained true to its original vision of fulfilling the needs of its students. The yearbook, The Academian, has been published since 1941; even during the austere years of World War II. The strong bond between the school and its students is reflected in the strength of its Alumni Association which has held a well-attended Alumni Banquet at the end of each school year since 1923.

The school physical plant has developed over its history from two buildings which did not include facilities for athletics or fine arts to over ten buildings specifically devoted to the encouragement of the academic, cultural, and physical talents of our students. Many of those buildings stand as a testament to the history of the school and to the vision of Larry Davis, Superintendent of Schools from 1969 to 1993. Due to Mr. Davis's leadership Sloan-Hendrix's progress and growth culminated with the accreditation of the school by the North Central Association in March of 1990.

The present administration building dates from the Great Depression and resulted from the W.P.A. program of the F.D.R. administration. The raising of a new high school building was brought about by a fire. The new building was dedicated in 1958 and a new gymnasium opened in 1969. During the 1980-81 session, renovations that doubled the high school classroom area and the elementary classroom area were put to use. The Special Education complex was built in conjunction with vocational classes from Black River Vocational Technical School.

Sloan-Hendrix continues to strive to meet each need of its community and students. Recognition of the success of those efforts is evident in our having achieved North Central Accreditation in both the elementary and high schools since the 1990-91 school session. We expect to celebrate a century of excellence in September of 1999 and begin our second century of meeting the needs of our community.

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