Jackson Jambalaya

Murrah: D (543) (C) (D)
Provine: D (535) (C) (D)
Callaway: F (476) (D) (F)
Forest Hill: F (467) (F)
Jim Hill: F (467) (D) (D)
Wingfield: F (462) (F)
Lanier: F (453) (F)

And this comprises your future workforce, parents, etc., in Jackson. Until this is fixed, both structurally and culturally, then Jackson is doomed to fail.

Dorsey, take a good hard look at that Chastain score. LMAO

MDE has changed district grading at least 5 times over the last 6 years. These grades are meaningless. They are only designed to try to make MDE and favored districts look good. Want to see how Mississippi schools really are doing then check performance on national tests. In 2017 we had the next to lowest composite ACT score in the nation with 18.6. https://www.statista.com/statistics/305987/us-average-act-scores-by-state/

This seems to be because there are not enough "support" people in these c, d, and f graded areas.

3:07 PM

Fixed both structurally and culturally... Nice dog whistle.

3:43. it’s not racial. Clinton and Pearl (A and B) aren’t majority white...if the students in those minority majority districts can score an A and a B, why can’t the ones in Jackson? Hmmm

Don’t try to underestimate the cultural rot of JPS. Yes- the culture needs to change. There’s a real
thing called “Black Flight.”. Happening now. Middle and upper income blacks leaving areas with bad public schools..

This does not help a lot with the charter school argument. I guess a D is better than a F, but I don't think that was the type of difference people were promised.

Clinton schools have been 51%-55% black for several years, and still beats Madison and Rankin on the accountability scores. And they just passed another bond issue with 90% support. Its engrained in the culture that young people are expected to learn. Nothing to do with race. Why do you think those black parents moved there? Same reason they are moving in every direction out of Jackson. They expect more from their kids and want a school system that expects more also.

3:34, I'm not defending our low ACT average, but we are one of the highest states for participation in the ACT as well. Near 100% of our students take it, where some states only 20% of the students take the ACT - the smarter ones.

Here's the sad thing. The best district in the state for reading proficiency (reading at grade level) is Petal at 63%. That means at the best school, over a third of the kids cant read proficiently.

Theca Jones, if it's not a structural or cultural problem, then what is it ? I'm not trying to start a race debate and am not trying to "dog out" African Americans. I'm asking a sincere question. In all seriousness, why does JPS continue to be an F rated district year after year after year ? (Please don't tell me it's a lack of funding as JPS has the most money and largest budget of any district in the State and spends more per student than any district in the State.) So what is causing JPFS to fail year after year ? And what can we do to change that and make it improve ? If we don't try to determine the actual cause and solution, then the kids in JPS will continue to fail and continue to lose. We can't solve the problem if we don't know what's causing the problem to begin with. I refuse to believe these kids are incapable of learning like every other kid in the State, so why aren't they ? Bad teachers ? No reinforcement at home ? Please help me understand, and I will help try to make it better.

4:56, The reason Jackson failure is because so many of the parent, notice I didn't put an S on parent, do not care if their kids learn. You do not have to have a great education to live off of Uncle Sam. Children in some schools actually prepare for their future and the parents see to it that they get an education.
The people in Jackson are satisfied with the education their children are getting. It is the same education their parent got.

In case you didn't notice, most of Rankin's high schools slipped.

Good to see Bailey APAC still doing well

The main reason school districts perform poorly is poverty, not race. I'm surprised more of you didn't know that.

3:34pm MDE "changed the score" because the Mississippi Legislature and US Congress "changed the score". Do common core, no wait don't. Add this, take away that. No Child Left Behind. Screw it. Leave 'em behind.

ACT scores do suck. No doubt about that.

Only 12 comments, probably because of what Kingfish just posted. It’s a lot easier to bash Forest Hill than to acknowledge Rankin schools are headed down the same path. NWR is Forest Hill 15 years ago. Move outa the hood and immediately act superior. Then move again.

You simply can’t beat Rankin County schools if your kid needs juice or a toke. It’s all in house.

RCSD: “From best to, meh... with a false hope of reduced favors for friends and family”

Wasn’t that the campaign slogan?

JPS new superintendent,

Your first step should be looking into the nepotism in your school district.

A Trinity, UPenn type grad has probably been turned down for important jobs in favor of a person like the Forest Hill band director.

Velma Jackson is better than Ridgeland? Wow.

If you ever wonder why the Northern School Districts get a great deal more money per student/district, it's because they flat out lie about their actual attendance numbers. It's a district-wide culture shaped by fear for losing your job if you even mention it. Students regularly miss 50+ days and still graduate or are promoted because their parents wrote a note for the day they missed to go on vacation, watch a ballgame, go to a wedding, etc.

7:36, your comment about poverty doesn’t stand 100% true. They were millions from The Greatest Generation that were raised dirt poor during the Great Depression and most did extremely well. Their wealth has been passed down to our generation. Not all became wealthy but they did have a different form of education and that was to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and try to do the best you possibly can. Hell, most didn’t have heat or fans in their schools. Some went to one room schools and had to walk. When they got home some didn’t have indoor plumbing or electricity so they had to study by lamp. The difference is the culture. I think I made my point. Either you want to or don’t want to. Either you succeed in life or you fail....it’s a personal choice

6:09 has some good points, but it’s not exactly a choice a ten year old is equipped to make. Especially a ten year old in a single parent home that doesn’t value education and never has. It’s a bit depressing to think how difficult this challenge really is.

One of the issues I see has to do with the lack of preparing students for real world jobs. We are trying to prepare everybody to go to college. That is crazy. Not everyone will go to college. Start investing in the vocational technical programs. Do you know a plumber makes way more than an entry level college graduate. The trades cannot find enough people to work. It's just a mindset in this country that everyone should go to college. Learn the basics and if you are smart enough prepare for college. If you are not or just don't have the desire learn a trade and have a job for life. That will break the poverty cycle.

Poverty is an excuse. I grew up poor, graduated from Wingfield in the 90s, and still managed to make something of myself. Being broke has zero to do with getting educated and I have no sympathy for those that use it as a crutch to justify bad behavior.

A districts increased by 20%. That ain't 'slight'.

8:42 - Please tell me you are not suggesting that JPS campi are fixated on 'preparing' scholars to go to college!

These rankings are only as good as the criteria and metrics used to calculate them. According to the MDE website:

"The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System assigns a performance rating of A, B, C, D, and F for each school and district based on established criteria regarding student achievement, individual student growth, graduation rate, and participation rate. Statewide assessments are used to measure proficiency and growth in proficiency for students in grades 3-8 and high school students taking end-of-course subject area assessments in Algebra I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History. Schools and districts are expected to have an assessment participation rate of 95% or greater."

https://www.mdek12.org/OPR/Reporting/Accountability/2018

8:32 no but the curriculum is designed that way.

Brandon High School emailed out a flyer to parents touting RCSD's A ranking. Interesting that they didn't address that actual school's decline.

10:11 - If it has an A rating, yet declined, what was it prior to the decline? Or am I misunderstanding your post? You simply wish your kids were in Rankin schools.

Murrah: D (543) (C) (D)
Provine: D (535) (C) (D)
Callaway: F (476) (D) (F)
Forest Hill: F (467) (F)
Jim Hill: F (467) (D) (D)
Wingfield: F (462) (F)
Lanier: F (453) (F)

3:07....Forest Hill. Is that the one with the progressive band and revolutionary band director?

Clinton succeeds because the culture and tradition there has not changed in 100 years. Failure is not an option. You WILL meet the standard, the standard will not change to satisfy you. No matter your economic status, race, national origin, etc. you will perform to the highest standard or you are an outcast. JPS fails because they make outcasts of the high achievers and cater to the masses who look for the easy path. Teachers as well as students. The lowest lead the highest. That was not always the case, but because politicians and administrators find they can make more money by blaming outside factors rather than being accountable themselves, the system has become rotten to the core. Clinton is simply an example of "old school" values which still work. JPS is an example of the neo liberal I'm alright you're alright bullshit which sets no real standard and fails the people who need help the most.

@ 10:42 - Brandon High itself is no longer an A. It is now a B. The school sent out a flyer about the district having an A ranking while ignoring the fact that that individual high school isn’t A rated. I hope that clears it up

If you want to change the future of this City, start with the schools. I was a happy Jackson resident, but left for Madison County Schools once we had a kiddo. The Montessori schools are great, but after that...it is time to leave. If you cannot afford the private schools, its in your child's best interest for you to leave. That is the best place to start...in my opinion.

11:29 My kid goes to Clinton. You are exactly right--they actually have 'repeaters' in the school..not just passed along to become someone else's problem. The grades actually reflect what the kids earned. And yes, they can still give a 'zero' as a grade...

And I teach at a local college and can say it's been my experience that students from Clinton, Madison Central, Prep, JA and St. Andrews do quite well as a whole. Students from Rankin County-not as well prepared overall. JPS..well, the ones that make it overcome JPS..

Hey JPS. Don't worry about it. As long as you register to vote and vote Democrat everything will be alright!

There are plenty of Murrah graduates who excel in college. Best not to generalize about all students.

How does Clinton enforce making the students repeat if they fail? Why isn't the rest of the state allowed to use this policy across the board?

So about a third of the school districts are rated D or F. How is it possible that the state superintendent still has her job, especially as the highest paid in the U.S.?

5:09 - Apparently because she is 'rock solid' like Cindy H. Smith. Or rather her contract is. Remember now...if nothing else, she's an expert on contracts.

509, it's what is known as a bell curve. Realize that may be above your head but the system is designed where the 'c' represents the middle. This is not the grading that is used for student grades, but rather representing where the curve breaks (i.e. the 'c' grade represents a score of 62 to 38; a 'd' is 37 to 15). And while I am no fan of the state supetintendent, she is not the person teaching the kids, or administering the schools, or even hiring the administrators of the schools. ME needs a complete overhaul, and if she got kicked to the curb in the process it wouldn't bother me at all. But the performance of individual schools or of districts is not under her control. It falls in the laps of the local school board and the local superintendent.

Of course when the schools fail, the state department has the ability to implement procedures to change those folks - unless like in the case of the failed JPS, the State Board recommends such a change only to be overruled by the all knowledgeable Governor. What say you Phil?

Reimagine Prep earned a C. It is only four points from a B. It has improved every year. It was a D a year ago. It will probably be a B next year. The charters made the mistake of starting in fifth grade. SHould've started in first. They took a bunch of kids who were on first grade reading or math levels when they first opened. The next charter school in West Jackson is doing it right and starting in K.

One got an F. I don't hold much hope for that one. However, one thing about charters unlike regular public schools. They can be shut down for non performance.

An important question that needs an answer is why do we need 146 school districts. Too few teachers. Too many administrators.

The public school system in Mississippi is merely a slush fund to provide poor whites a job. Keep quiet about it, or you're out. It is a multi-BILLION dollar bureaucracy that is perpetuated to create hundreds of high level and six-figure salaries to the "connected". K-12 and the higher ed systems are simply a mid-level political class of con-artists committed to keeping the money flowing, but the education to a minimum - because the conflict that would ensue would cause another civil war.....which it inevitably will again anyway.