Bears School History
Due to growth in the system, the City Board of Education approved the building of a new school. The school was completed on August 7, 1952, and was named in honor of Mr. Norman F. Smith, who for many years was Chairman of the City Board of Education and devoted his life to public education. In 1991, the school was completely renovated and a new classroom wing was added. In 1996, with over fifty percent of its student population on free and reduced lunch, our school became a School-wide Title 1 school.
Today, there are classrooms for pre-kindergarten through fifth grades: 2 Pre-K, 4 Kindergarten, 5 First grades, 4 Second grades, 4 Third grades, 4 Fourth grades, and 4 Fifth grades. We also have a media center, cafeteria, gymnasium, art class, music class, a speech classroom, 2 CDC (Comprehensive Development Class), Hearing Impaired services, ESL classroom, 4 Resource classrooms, a PASS classroom, 2 School Counselor offices, a Centerstone office, and an Academic Coach.