In 1950 Bickerdyke and Simpson Elementary Schools were started in Russell to replace the original Southside and Northside Schools. Because the old schools were razed, the school children had to meet in churches around town while the new schools were being built at the same locations. (Click for picture of old Southside, which BES replaced.)

 The new Southside Elementary School opened in September of 1952. It was still called Southside during this first year. In the following June, Southside was renamed Bickerdyke Elementary School in honor of James R. Bickerdyke, who was the county superintendent from 1889 to 1894. His mother was the woman widely known as "Mother" Bickerdyke, a Civil War nurse who came to the Russell County area to help soldiers returning from the Civil War.

 Bickerdyke Elementary School was dedicated on November 16, 1952. Keith Fitzgerald was principal during the first four years. John Farrell was principal from the fall of 1956 until his retirement in the spring of 1993. Larry Bernard began his duties as principal in the fall of 1993 and in the spring of 1999 he moved to being principal of Russell High School. JoAnn Browne was BES principal until 2003. Shelley Dougherty took on the dual duties of principal of Simpson Elementary School and principal of Bickerdyke Elementary School during the 2003-2004 school year, and she remains the principal of both elementary schools in Russell.

 Bickerdyke Elementary School, an L-shaped building with the east wing being two stories, is located at 348 North Maple. The building has a large cafeteria, which serves as a multi-purpose room for lyceums. Construction of a building for indoor Physical Education classes was completed in the Summer of 1995. A playground takes up the rest of the block.

 Bickerdyke Elementary School began as a neighborhood school which housed two or three sections of kindergarten through 6th Grade. Special Education services for the Mentally Retarded, the Speech/Language Program, Art, and Music have always been part of the new modern grade school. Over the years, Physical Education, other Special Education classes, Library, and Computer Labs were added to the curriculum. Over the next several years, changes in grades taught at Bickerdyke were frequent.

 In the fall of 1984, Fifth Grade was moved to Ruppenthal Middle School. Bickerdyke became a K-4 building with two or three sections per grade level. The two Fourth Grades from Simpson were transferred to Bickerdyke for the 1986-87 school year. In 1990 the Fifth Grades returned to Bickerdyke from Ruppenthal Middle School. Bickerdyke's Kindergarten, First, and Second Grades moved to Simpson Elementary School, and Simpson's Third Grades moved to Bickerdyke. At the present time, Bickerdyke continues to serve students in Grades 3 through 5 and Self-contained Special Education (Levels I and II).

 In 1995 Bickerdyke Elementary dedicated an Outdoor Wildlife Learning Site (OWLS). The 70 by 100 foot site was supported through grant funds from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks and through funds from the Elaine Machin Memorial. Students and staff work in the site to establish and maintain native grass plots, garden plots, landscaping shrubs and flowers, zeriscape, and wetlands. Included within the site are several birdhouses, birdfeeders, birdbaths, and bathhouses.

 Bickerdyke Elementary School provides a facility for the comfort, health, and education of Russell-area elementary children. Within its walls, Bickerdyke personnel provide the instruction and guidance necessary to encourage each student to grow and prosper in their future education.