By John Balch
News-Leader staff
The new principal at Dierks’ JoAnn Walters Elementary School has made a pledge to her alma mater and its students – and signed it in Outlaw Blue.
“I will always bleed Blue,” said Beth Shelton (Dierks High School class of 2000) about her return to the district as an administrator. “I am honored to be able to serve in this new role. I will never take it lightly and I hope to leave it better for future generations of Outlaws.”
“Blue runs deep” in the Shelton family with husband Trey (DHS class of 2003) and daughter Ali, a ninth-grade cheerleader and Lady Outlaw basketball player.
“Trey and I have a long line of Dierks graduates in our families” and being able to return to where it all started is not lost on the Outlaw mom.
“The opportunity I have been given to come back home is literally a dream come true,” she said.
Shelton has worked extensively in the educational field since 2005. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Henderson State University (2004) and a Master of Education degree from Harding University (2009).
Her first job was teaching kindergarten at De Queen where she later taught second and fourth grades.
“I loved my years of experience teaching in the De Queen School District,” Shelton said of the predominantly Hispanic district. “I learned to meet the needs of the English Language Learners that I plan to use to support our teachers while they support our students.”
Shelton returned to the Dierks School District in August 2015 to teach kindergarten before taking a job as Dean of Students at Horatio Elementary School in July 2023.
At Horatio, Shelton served the elementary in an “administrative capacity” and she said the knowledge gained during her two-year tenure will certainly translate into her new job. “The experience that I gained has increased my capacity to serve our community better,” she said.
Shelton is already very confident in her staff and looks forward to the start of school this week to get students into the equation.
“I have high expectations for my staff and students, but I also love to have fun,” she said. “School climate plays such an important role in how our teachers teach and students learn. We are a family at Dierks and we are a team. We will work together to make sure our students reach their goals and also make a lifetime of memories while they are in our building.”
Shelton said she learned the importance of education early from a picture painted by grandmother many years ago. The painting is titled “Education is the Key to Freedom” and it now hangs in her new office.
“We find freedom in many ways with a good education,” said the granddaughter.
As Shelton enters her 21st year in education, she said she will continue to “strive daily to help our school become more competitive in academics while also building our elementary school culture.”
“It’s time to rise up and meet the high expectations we have set for ourselves and our kids,” Shelton added. “Great things are ahead for us at JoAnn Walters Elementary.”
Around 315 elementary students were expected when doors opened this week. According to Principal Shelton, three qualities required to work with elementary students are “patience, kindness and energy.”
