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[Burnham] Stakes Raised for Mississippi Schools

Appointed as State Superintendent of Education

The difference between Mississippi's old school-accountability rating system, which rated schools from Level 1 to Level 5, and the school and district accountability system that the state will implement this school year is like the difference between competing for a state championship and a national championship. It is just like Ole Miss and MSU football competing for state bragging rights compared to competing for national bragging rights. There is a big difference.

Consolidation: The Same Old Story?

The issue of school consolidation is popping up in anticipation of another cash-strapped legislative session. Calls for merging some of the state's 152 public-school districts aren't new in lean budget years, despite a lack of evidence of its value.

Burnham Selected as Superintendent of Schools

The Mississippi Board of Education announced its unanimous selection for Superintendent of Schools yesterday: Dr. Tom Burnham, 56, who held the position from 1992 to 1997. Burnham replaces Interim Superintendent Dr. John Jordan, who took on the job when former-Superintendent Dr. Hank Bounds took the position of Commissioner for Higher Education in July.

Laurence C. Jones

A hundred years ago, Laurence Clifton Jones established The Piney Woods School in rural Rankin County with $2 and three students. Jones, born Nov. 21, 1884, in St. Joseph Mo., graduated from the University of Iowa in 1908. He turned down a job at Tuskeegee Institute in Alabama, opting instead for the Utica Institute in Mississippi.

Sweet and Safe

These days, not a lot of people go door-to-door for trick-or-treating. Many families attend local harvest festivals or parties at their kids' schools or churches. Nevertheless, if you are taking your kids out this Halloween, remember to practice these few candy safety rules.

Parents, Educators Call on JPS to Renew Music Program

UPDATED October 26, 2009

Complaints inundated Jackson Public Schools Board members after a tie vote on Oct. 20 failed to renew a music education program that serves elementary students across the district. The roughly $300,000 program, a collaboration with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra, brings professional musicians into schools to teach string performance to over 400 students. The program also brings all JPS elementary students to Thalia Mara Hall for full orchestra performances and offers smaller ensemble performances at individuals schools.

Lukisha Cork

Lukisha Cork, 35, knows an opportunity worth grabbing when she sees it. The Greenville mother of four boys, aged 12 to 17, will be receiving her certified nursing assistant certificate on Friday, along with four of her family members. The family can credit Lukisha for their newly acquired skills.

JSU Gets $500K Entergy Grant

Jackson State University is dedicating a laboratory and a new power-systems degree track in its engineering program, thanks to a grant from Entergy. The power company has awarded JSU with $400,000 to purchase equipment for a new laboratory and an additional $100,000 for student scholarships.

Update: School Board Meeting Cancelled

UPDATED October 23, 2009

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees has canceled a special meeting today, because "additional information is needed for a recommendation to approve Qualified School Construction Bond Projects," according to a release. The agenda was to include time for public participation "for general comments and/or proposed policy issues."

Bus Strikers Want Deal Soon

Union bus drivers for Hinds County schools say the part-time pay for drivers isn't enough to keep food on the table.

Parents Should Make Plans for Getting Kids to School

With school bus drivers employed by First Student threatening a strike beginning Thursday morning, the Hinds County School District is urging parents to make alternate plans for getting their kids to school tomorrow.

JPS Board Drops Music Program

The Jackson Public Schools Board of Trustees failed to renew funding for a music education program yesterday, effectively discontinuing a 42-year-old collaboration with the Mississippi Symphony Orchestra. Board members voted 2-2 on renewing the program. Members Jonathan Larkin and Ann Jones voted for renewal, and Delmer Stamps and Ivory Phillips voted in opposition. Board President Sollie Norwood was absent due to illness.

Dr. James Bowley

"I love my job!" proclaims Dr. James E. Bowley on his Web site. Bowley, an associate professor in the Millsaps College department of religious studies, teaches courses on the Bible and related religious traditions: Judaism, Islam and Christianity. "What's not to like about spending the day with great colleagues and students thinking and conversing and researching about religious traditions, reading beautiful or even shocking texts, and investigating intriguing religious practices?" he writes.

Johnson: Test Scores Reflect Education Funding

Mississippi NAACP President Derrick Johnson blames legislators for the state's low rank in a national summary of elementary school math grades. "The Nation's Report Card: Mathematics 2009," released yesterday, outlines achievements of fourth- and eighth-graders on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics test, administered by the U.S. Department of Education. The report compares national results in 2009 with prior assessments, and concluded that the state of Mississippi hit rock bottom, second to last behind the District of Columbia, with few improvements among the children tested.

Teens Expect JSU Hazing

A Former Forest Hill High School band director and a local Jackson attorney say that high-school students know what they're getting into when they try out for the Jackson State University marching band, the Sonic Boom of the South—and that can mean beatings with mallets, 2-by-4 boards, baseball bats and bottles.

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