Education

Mississippi Schools Cut 2,000 Jobs

Mississippi school districts have cut more than 2,000 employees over the last year to manage their shrinking budgets, state Superintendent for Education Tom Burnham told a panel of legislators yesterday. Speaking to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Burnham emphasized districts' cost-cutting measures while asking legislators to fully fund the Mississippi Adequate Education Program in the upcoming 2012 fiscal year.

Above and Beyond

Washington Koen Media along with local and outreach partners invite citizens of cities across the nation to a public conversation they're calling "Beyond the Bricks," which promotes advocacy on behalf of black males enrolled in public schools.

Tougaloo to Host National Education Conversation

Ashington Koen Media along with local and outreach partners invite citizens of cities across the nation to a public conversation they're calling "Beyond the Bricks," which promotes advocacy on behalf of black males enrolled in public schools. The tour kicks off in Jackson Sept. 18 at Tougaloo College and will stop at nine other cities.

JPS Receives Accountability Results

Three Jackson public elementary schools earned the Mississippi Department of Education's "Star School" status—the state's highest rating for school performance—in accountability results MDE released Friday.

Watkins Pushes for JPS Diversity

Former Jackson Public School Superintendent Earl Watkins said today that Jackson Public Schools' success begins with destroying misconceptions about races and ethic cultures.

Edwards' Book Sales OK Under State Law

The controversy surrounding Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards, whose former Georgia school district spent $16,169 on copies of his book, isn't relevant under existing state law, Mississippi Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Hood said Monday.

Barbour Reverses on $98M for Schools

After soundly criticizing the federal Education Jobs and Medicaid Assistance Act earlier this month, Gov. Haley Barbour has apparently reversed his decision, telling lawmakers and school officials yesterday that he will apply for funds to help Mississippi schools.

Edwards Denies Influence on Book Purchases

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards spent nearly an hour at a press conference yesterday sharing the story that inspired him to write a book, but skirted around specific questions on how his former school district purchased and used that book.

Choctaw Sun Warriors Look to Australia

The Mississippi Band of Choctaws kicked serious sun-lovin' butt this past month after taking home the overall championship in the 15th Hunt-Winston Solar Car Challenge for high-school teams.

Edwards To Address Book Controversy

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Lonnie Edwards is holding a press conference this afternoon to address controversial book purchases at his former school district. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has reported that several administrators in the DeKalb County, Ga., school district used school funds to purchase books they wrote.

State Waits for Education Jobs

House Education Chairman Cecil Brown, D-Jackson, claims Gov. Haley Barbour reacted before knowing all the details when he criticized a federal bill that will provide the state with $97 million for education, saving 2,000 teaching jobs.

Melissa Dearman

Baker Elementary School is getting kids excited to read. The south Jackson elementary school recently won "School of the Year" honors from America Reads Mississippi, a literacy program that brings AmeriCorps volunteers into schools to tutor reading and increase community support for literacy. Volunteers work with students one-on-one during the school day, using library books that complement classroom lessons. Melissa Dearman, the school's administrative assistant, received the "Site Supervisor of the Year" award for her work overseeing the school's AmeriCorps volunteers.

How to Be the Best

Every Mississippian flinches when we hear yet another statistic or superlative that shows how bad we seem to have it: We're the fattest, poorest, most racist, worst educated or such, or we're trading off with Louisiana or Alabama for such honors.

[Stiggers] School Daze

Big Roscoe: "School days. People go to school in a daze. Good old you has to go back to school for change-your-career days. Reading, writing and arithmetic taught to a tune of thousands of dollars per semester, and after you complete your accelerated studies at that online university, you're obligated to pay back that high-interest loan."

Message For Our Time

Only the family of God can solve the problem of education in Mississippi. The Bible says that "You should train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

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