Education

JPS Improves, Stays Stable in Language Arts, Math; Average ACT 15.6

Jackson Public Schools remained stable or saw improvement across the third- through eighth-grade English language arts and math assessments in 2015-2016 Mississippi Assessment Program, or MAP, results that the Mississippi Department of Education released Aug. 16.

Ole Miss Quietly Mothballs ‘Dixie’

The University of Mississippi shed one more vestige of its Confederate past today, announcing that it is doing away with the song “Dixie” starting with this season’s football festivities. But the public institution, known as Ole Miss, tiptoed the news out the door gingerly.

Board Seeks Middle Ground on A-to-F School Grading Scale

State Board of Education members are backing a plan that would assign A grades to fewer Mississippi schools and districts than an administrator task force recommended, but more than Department of Education officials had originally wanted.

JPS On Probation, Full Audit Ahead

Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Cedrick Gray says that the district plans to install GPS systems on buses to track their routes, ensure that each school has working fire extinguishers and has "beefed up" the presence of law enforcement in its schools to ensure a "safe and orderly" environment.

State Puts Jackson Schools on Probation, Orders New Audit

Not only is a state commission putting the Jackson school district on probation, but members ordered an audit of all the district's schools, expressing concern over safety and discipline.

State Recommends Probation for Violations in Jackson Schools

Four years after the Jackson school district nearly lost its accreditation over problems with special education programs, Mississippi's second largest district is in trouble again with state oversight authorities.

Governor Criticizes Education Agency on After-School Money

Gov. Phil Bryant is calling for immediate action by the state Board of Education to remedy misspending of federal money that's threatening the state's ability to fund after-school programs.

Conservative Legal Group Enters the Charter School Lawsuit Fray

A conservative legal group is intervening in the Southern Poverty Law Center's lawsuit challenging the state's charter-school law.

JPS Superintendent Defends District, Award

Serving nearly 4,000 employees and more than 28,000 students, 78 percent of whom receive free or reduced lunch in the state's largest city, Jackson Public Schools often faces loud internal and external criticism from those who lament the district's perceived failures on behalf of its students.

JPS Dads Make the Million Father March

Early this morning, a handful of bright-faced elementary-school students and their tired but happy-looking dads participated in the Million Father March from Jackson Public Schools' Enoch building to Poindexter Elementary School.

Cedrick Gray of JPS Named Superintendent of the Year

The National Association of School Superintendents named Cedrick Gray, who has been JPS superintendent for four years, as one of two 2016 Superintendents of the Year, along with Timothy Purnell, superintendent of Somerville Public Schools in New Jersey.

Ways to Save for College Students

When it comes to your college life anywhere, the most important thing is being able to start it off right. Ryan Lytle of U.S. News Education says that one of the 10 most important tips for entering college students is learning how to maintain a college budget.

Josalyn Filkins, Principal at Midtown Public Charter School

When Josalyn Filkins sat down with the Jackson Free Press, she talked about her plans for the future of the school and for engaging with the community as Midtown tries to move forward amid potential litigation against the charter law, and as legislation opens the doors of the charter school to kids who don't live in Jackson.

Chronically Absent: Is Quality Education in Juvenile Detention Possible in Mississippi?

Rankin County Youth Court Judge Thomas Broome told the Jackson Free Press with some pain that before 2006, juvenile-detention centers in the state didn't have to have school. With few organized efforts to educate detained children, they missed days or weeks of school at a time.

Education and Lessons from the Game of ‘Life’

Ask just about anyone, and they'll agree: Education is in a bizarre place. In most cases, though, the person you ask will follow up their answer with something about the federal or state government, or they'll say something about Jackson Public Schools, even if they truthfully don't know much or don't have much skin in the game.

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