Daniel 'Danny' Henley

Harmony Grove superintendent looks forward to retirement

Daniel “Danny” Henley will retire as superintendent of the Harmony Grove School District in Haskell at the end of this school year. He has served more than 40 years in education and was honored earlier this year by the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce as the recipient of the 2016 Community Legacy Award.
Daniel “Danny” Henley will retire as superintendent of the Harmony Grove School District in Haskell at the end of this school year. He has served more than 40 years in education and was honored earlier this year by the Benton Area Chamber of Commerce as the recipient of the 2016 Community Legacy Award.

Harmony Grove School District Superintendent Daniel “Danny” Henley said he is excited about the next phase of his life, “but sad about it, too.”

“I have a lot of special feelings and memories,” said Henley, 64, who will retire at the end of this school year after 43 years in education — all at Harmony Grove. “My wife, Pam, who will be 59 in June, is retiring, too. She has taught kindergarten for 28 years.

“Knock on wood, we both are in good health and want to enjoy the days to come,” he said.

“We plan to take a few trips,” Henley said. “We have six grandkids, so I image a lot of time will be spent chasing them.”

Henley said one of the first trips they will make is to Disneyland in California.

“We always take the grandchild who turns 5 to Disneyland for his or her birthday,” Henley said. “We have one turning 5 this year. This will be our fourth grandchild we have taken there. We like Disneyland because it’s smaller [than Walt Disney World in Florida], and the weather is nice.”

The Henleys have three children.

Their daughter Shelly McKee and her husband, John, live in Louisville, Kentucky. They have two sons — Gavin, 16, and Max, 4.

Daughter Kelly Mitchell and her husband, Chris, live in Hot Springs. They have two daughters — Victoria, 8, and Maggie, 1.

The Henleys’ son, Billy Henley, and his wife, Jill, live in rural Saline County. They have two children — Lane, 6, and Caroline, 2.

Danny Henley was born in Batesville, a son of the late Bob and O.V. Henley. He graduated from Cord-Charlotte High School, which is now consolidated with the Cedar Ridge School District.

“My graduating class had 18. … That was a big class,” he said, smiling.

“I grew up on a farm, north of Charlotte, about 15 miles outside of Batesville,” he said. “I was really a country boy. I have two brothers — Randy, who is an attorney, and Mike, who is a retired educator; they both have moved back to Batesville.

“I’m not moving back to Batesville,” Henley said, smiling. “We’ve just bought a new house in rural Saline County, … a smaller house, so we have downsized.”

Henley graduated from State College of Arkansas (now the University of Central Arkansas) in Conway in 1974 with a degree in social sciences and physical education.

“I came to work at Harmony Grove in Haskell in 1974,” he said. “I taught social studies and was the girls basketball coach for seven years. I got my master’s degree in counseling from Henderson State University [in Arkadelphia]. I worked a little while as a counselor and then was the elementary school principal for two years.

“Then I moved to the high school as principal, where I served for seven years,” he said. “During that time, I got my specialist’s certification in administration from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville in 1983 and moved into the superintendent’s position in 1989. I’ve been here ever since.”

The Harmony Grove School District named its new gymnasium the Daniel Henley Fieldhouse in 2004.

Henley said the Harmony Grove School District has seen “periods of growth” since he first started teaching there in 1974.

“It depends a lot on the economy,” he said. “We had about 500 students when I first became superintendent. Now we have between 1,200 and 1,250 students.

“We grew a lot between 1999 and 2000; then the economy went south after 9/11, and we lost kids for a year or two,” he said. “Enrollment has progressed back up, especially the last couple of years. We grew by 90 kids this year.

“One reason is, people are moving into the district. Another reason is School Choice (the Public School Choice law in Arkansas, allowing students to attend a public school in a district other than the one in which they reside, with some limitations); all a student has to do is apply. It’s been good for us. We’ve gotten good students and parents who care about their children’s education.”

Henley said he always wanted to be a teacher.

“My grandmother, Millie Patterson, lived across the road from us when I was growing up,” he said. “She had always wanted to be a school teacher and always talked to us about being one.

“I think I was really influenced by that.”

While Henley said he does not have a philosophy for teaching or managing a school district, he said he wants all of the teachers at Harmony Grove “to really care about our children.”

“We spend most of the day with these students … our children,” he said. “We spend a lot of time influencing them. We grow to love them.

“I was at a meeting one time, with parents and students, and they said they wanted the teachers to be nice. I talk about this to my staff all the time. We want to be nice. … We want to be caring about these children. We want to love and respect them, and hope they will love and respect us, too. That’s what I want Harmony Grove schools to be known for.”

Henley said the school district, despite opening a junior high school and building an addition to the elementary school a few years ago, is full again.

“We’ve seen a lot of growth in the high school,” he said, “and we are going to need a new cafeteria. That will be one of the first things the new superintendent will have to consider.”

The Benton Area Chamber of Commerce recognized Henley with the 2016 Community Legacy Award during its annual awards luncheon on Jan. 5.

“He has influenced thousands of children, their families and everyone in the Harmony Grove community,” Leigha Jones, president of the chamber board of directors, said at the luncheon. “He leaves a lasting legacy of excellence, determination … working together to do what’s best for the students.”

Henley said he was really surprised by the chamber honor.

“I really appreciate it,” he said. “I don’t know why they gave it to me. … I guess for all these years I’ve been in education in Saline County.

Hopefully, this award is a reflection of the school district that I represent.”

Henley said he believes teaching “is the most rewarding field you could get into.”

“It’s very challenging,” he said. “There is a lot of pressure on teachers now, but the relationship you build with students is very rewarding.”

Saline County Judge Jeff Arey, who served as mayor of Haskell for several years, graduated from Harmony Grove High School in 1981.

“Danny Henley has been a tremendous influence on Harmony Grove School, the community of Haskell and thousands of young people and their families, including mine,” said Arey, who has been the county judge since January 2015. “To the Arey family, he has been a teacher, coach, principle, superintendent, mentor and friend. I often refer to him as ‘Coach.’ When I was in school, he was a coach and a good one, so out of respect, I still call him ‘Coach’ today.

“During my time as mayor, we had to work together through many issues, and he was always so good to work with me to find a solution to what was best for the school and the community,” Arey said. “This community will certainly miss his leadership, but we are so lucky that he chose Harmony Grove for his career and to raise his family.”

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