The Mississippi Department of Education issued the following statement.
The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) voted unanimously today to recommend to the Mississippi Legislature that it consider relocating the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) to Mississippi State University (MSU) starting in the 2026-27 school year. No changes to the location or operations of MSMS will occur without legislative action and appropriation of necessary funding.
The MSMS was established during the 1987 Legislative Session as a residential high school for academically gifted 11th and 12th grade students on the campus of the Mississippi University for Women (MUW). MUW faculty wrote the original rationale, proposal, and plan that established the school. Since its inception, MSMS has served more than 3,000 graduates through its rigorous programming.
On February 7, the SBE invited the MUW and MSU to submit proposals that will increase enrollment opportunities and enhance educational programming for MSMS students. The SBE selected these two universities because MSMS partners with both for dual enrollment and research opportunities.
After evaluating proposals from both universities and reviewing written feedback from stakeholders, the SBE determined that MSU offers advantages for the future growth of MSMS, while acknowledging the foundation established through its history on the campus of MUW.
MSU proposal highlights:
1. Research depth: As Mississippi’s leading research institution, MSU proposes to provide MSMS students with access to more extensive research facilities and opportunities, particularly in STEM fields.
2. Additional academic partnerships: MSU proposes to offer more diverse course options to MSMS students by partnering with the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.
3. Industry connections: MSU proposes to connect MSMS students with business and industry partners for experiential learning and internships aligned with workforce development needs.
4. Career-focused STEM and arts programs: MSU proposes to provide tailored programs for MSMS students in high-demand fields including health sciences, defense industry, cyber security, engineering, manufacturing technology, data science, biotechnology and the arts in the digital age.
“The SBE is grateful to the Mississippi University for Women for its decades of service supporting MSMS,” said Glen East, SBE chair. “MUW’s partnership with MSMS has established the school’s reputation for excellence and created a strong foundation that has benefited thousands of Mississippi’s brightest students. Our recommendation reflects our assessment of future growth possibilities and academic opportunities for MSMS students; it is not intended to diminish MUW’s contributions to the success of MSMS.”
32 comments:
What parent would want 15-17 year old daughter going to Mississippi State which has an enrollment of 22,000 aged from 21-25. MUW has an enrollment of app. 2,000 students.
This makes a lot of sense yet the word on the street is Starkville wants a new high school on the MSU campus and that MSMS would funnel in as part of this plan.
That would 1. defeat the purpose of having MSMS a separate institution and 2. mean the state picking up the tab for a new SHS as opposed to the local taxpayers. I'm not a fan of those concepts.
MSMS students were always exceptional. They were smart enought to make their own drugs.
It's the right move. In the future the roles and size of all the other six Mississippi public universities including MUW will be diminished while MSU and Ole Miss will continue to expand. That's IHL reality. These gifted high schoolers can benefit greatly from the enchanced offerings at MSU and many impressed with MSU may even decide to stay in state to continue their academic careers.
I hear that the Art School is next on the list to go to USM.
What a blow for Columbus and a coup for MSU. Did the other universities get a chance at these students?
Those of you who pay even minimal attention, see a constant stream of ads and claims that Starkville is Mississippi's College Town...ads bragging about the law allowing walking around with alcoholic drinks in your hand, suggesting Starkvegas is on par with the states party-school to the north.
Yep, this is the environment I'd chose for my 15-year-old daughter.
My youngest daughter wants to go to MSMS and just last night I was wrapping my head around getting on board...but that's if it remains at a small campus/enviornment. No way if it moves to State. And that's nothing against Starkville or State...my oldest is headed there for college in the fall. A big SEC school environment isn't for high schoolers.
Someone please explain to me how moving away from the format that’s made MSMS a nationally ranked high school is a good idea? Let’s take the weird kids and mix them up with regular high school kids and house them on an SEC campus. I say this as a parent of a weird kid who had hopes of sending her off in a couple of years to spread her wings. Unreal. We finally hit a home run in education and we muck it up. All so Starkville high school can get a new building on the state taxpayer credit card and MSU can expand its footprint in the primary education space. We had a model that works, therefore we must change it. Government efficiency at its finest. Where the heck is DOGE when you need it.
I thought housing was an issue on MSU’s campus. Where would these students be housed?
4:29 Wrong only five are on the chopping block USM has too many connections. Hell, they just got a new volleyball stadium.
I wouldn’t hire Nora Miller to run a lemonade stand. She completely botched the (numerous) rebrands of MUW/Brightwell, and now lost the MSMS. Is this leadership?!
". No changes to the location or operations of MSMS will occur without legislative action and appropriation of necessary funding"
Is it all that different than the many parents who allow their underage high school students to go 'hang out' unchaperoned and unsupervised in Oxford for the weekend?
Nice while it lasted.
Look for Delta State to have a high school on campus. Already helping out the elementary school that had the gas explosion.
#flagship
MSU has got to figure out a way to compete in enrollment with Ole Miss. this is the next best thing.
Delta State already has an elementary school on campus for the gifted after their building was damaged from fire or tornado.
@6:47 your blessed DOdGE would simply eliminate MSMS as a duplicated program given there are hundreds of high schools already in the state. They do not use logic or thought in their decision making.
So anyone around Golden Triangle or MUW knows that the leadership (Miller et al.). is a trainwreck. Heck their CFO doesn't have an accounting background. Long story short, the legislature doesn't want to invest in MUW, it's losing too much money. Not sure if the move actually will happen, but just a few points:
Crime: All of the people clutching their pearls about student safety clearly haven't researched the crime stats. Sure MSU's numbers are going to be higher than MUW, (the campus is bigger and the cops do their jobs) but do a comparison of Columbus/Lowndes County vs. Starkville/Oktibbeha County. For bonus points, look at the addresses of those committing crimes in Starkville, you'll quickly realize they commute from Columbus.
Cost: The proposal requires the Starkville/Oktibbeha community to put in an additional $80M, via bonds. No way this happens without a challenge & vote.
U-High is a lab skule at LSU and it works just fine. Actually has a pretty good waiting list.
8:57AM - I cannot speak for anyone else, but I don't think "crime" is the reason parents wouldn't want their high-school-age kids off at/in a "college town."
I can speak from personal experience as someone who went to college at barely 16, and knew a few others who were also 15-16: the likelihood of "growing up" too fast is high and the potential is inarguable. Of those I knew, most of us more-or-less came through fine, but a couple did not. And there were times for all of us it could have gone either way. This is not an opinion for or against on this particular situation because I don't know any specifics about it, just on the general idea of 15-16 year-olds in college or a "college town."
Hmm… Moving the math & science school to the state’s premier STEM institution? Of course JJ commenters hate the idea!
Delta State has plenty of room on campus after LaForge and his liberal politics and all out assault on Greek Life ran off more than half of the student population. Good riddance to that guy. Him spending millions to rebuild the presidents house while there were budget issues was the nail in the coffin.
This is not about MSMS. It's about stripping MUW and the other universities not named Ole Miss, Miss. State, and possibly USM of their already meager assets to make the big two more competitive with the LSU's of the world. Just watch and you will see zero growth and the curtailment of programs across the board at those small universities while the opposite will happen at the big two (maybe three). It's a plan in motion.
@ 8:58 - Your point? Either I missed it or was out of the room when you made it.
10:14 Duh. In case you haven't noticed nobody here gives a flying damn about those other "universities". Sorry.
10:14,
with the looming enrollment cliff..... good. Next best thing other than shutting them down
6:46pm way to hold your daughter back because you haven't done the hard work on your control issues. lots of great resources to help with that, including therapy.
Louisana’s math & science school is located on the campus of Northwestern State in Natchitoches . It’s a small school in a small town. LSU’s U high is basically a private school with good academics but they are not a Math & Science school
The recent decision to relocate the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) from the campus of Mississippi University for Women (MUW) to Mississippi State University (MSU) is driven by more than just logistics—it’s rooted in economics.The truth is, maintaining the facilities at MUW comes at a cost. From dormitories to dining services, the infrastructure required to support high school students on campus adds financial pressure to a university already facing enrollment challenges. In fact, it’s likely that MSMS students made up a sizable portion of the on-campus population at MUW—possibly even outnumbering traditional residential students in recent years.
For MUW, MSMS has helped sustain the on-campus experience. Without them, MUW would have faced even greater challenges in maintaining its residential infrastructure. Some might say the presence of MSMS helped prevent MUW from becoming a “suitcase college,” with students commuting instead of living on campus.On the other hand, MSU is better positioned to absorb the costs and logistics of hosting MSMS students. With more extensive facilities and a larger budget, MSU can more easily provide the cafeteria services, dorm space, and other amenities needed for a residential high school program.In the end, MUW will have to adapt to life without MSMS on campus. While the transition may be difficult in the short term, it also presents an opportunity for the university to reassess its priorities, reshape its campus culture, and find new ways to serve its student body.
Post a Comment