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Mississippi Expands Pre-K Education
Just two weeks after Halloween, hundreds of four-year-olds in high-need areas around the state will receive a new treat: pre-kindergarten.
JPS Board President Talks Transparency, JPS Future
Though Jackson Public Schools is just a month shy of the Christmas holidays, Superintendent Dr. Cedrick Gray's resignation is effective Nov. 14.
Mayor Proclaims Season to Help Students Pay for College
This morning at Murrah High School, Mayor Tony Yarber proclaimed October through May "FAFSA Completion Season" for the City of Jackson in an effort to increase those numbers across the entire school district.
JPS Students Confront Police Brutality With Art
When Forest Hill High School teacher Paige Watson taught 9th-grade English last year, her students read law professor Michelle Alexander's book, "The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness," as part of a unit focusing on police brutality in light of the police-shooting deaths of unarmed black people.
MAEP Co-author Calls Tinkering with Public-School Formula 'Terrifying'
"Like rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic." That's the way Sen. Hob Bryan, D-Amory, described the joint meeting between the House and Senate Education Committees yesterday.
JPS Board, Supe Under Fire Over Scores
When Cedrick Gray took the reins as superintendent of Jackson Public Schools in 2012, he had three preliminary goals attached to his three-year, $200,000 contract.
State Accountability Ratings Gloomy for Jackson Schools
For the first time in several years, Jackson Public Schools has joined the Mississippi Department of Education's list of failing districts in the state, with 17 JPS elementary and middle schools drawing an F in numbers the State made public today.
UPDATED: Would a New Formula Fund Public Schools Better?
After a litany of lawsuits, public outcry and legislative drama, Mississippi's GOP leaders have joined forces with a New Jersey-based nonprofit to see if the state's public-school funding formula should change.
New Washer and Dryer A Big Deal for Jackson Elementary School
Third-graders at Jackson Public Schools' North Jackson Elementary School received a lesson beyond reading, writing and arithmetic today: separating, loading and folding.
Shirt Company Surprises JPS Elementary Students with Donation
At Watkins Elementary School yesterday, students took saying "thank you" to a whole new level.
Making Their Own Space
NunoErin, a design studio based in downtown Jackson, glows with color and light. With its pristine light-up furniture and colorful gaming tables illuminating restaurants, hospitals and hotels all over the world, the company meshes high technology with color and fun.
Teen, Expelled from School and the State, Back as Adult to Push Education
Summit Town Councilman Joe Lewis said that when Brenda Travis was expelled from Burglund High School on Oct. 4, 1961, it took his classmates minutes—"not days or weeks"—to decide they would protest.
Pop-Up Makerspace at FFT Showcasing JPS Elementary Students' Creations
One robot fires miniature red plastic cannons with fierce accuracy; others imitate dogs. With the tap of a keystroke, a 3-D printer develops families of little filament creatures. Student-designed computers with Wi-Fi access operate miniature Ferris wheels.
Unmet Needs: Children with Disabilities Caught in the Voucher Crossfire
Private School Review, a website that vets private schools, says that the state has 250 private schools. Out of these, the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools, or MAIS, reports that it lists just over 80 schools in its directory.
Is Mississippi Too Selective with Charters?
Some parents in Mississippi who don't want to send their children to district schools or private schools have another option: charter schools. But as these publicly funded, privately run schools have proliferated across the nation, Mississippi's charter-school growth has been relatively sluggish. Only three charter schools exist in the state, all of which are in the Jackson area.
Mississippi Subsidizes Advanced Placement Test Fees
Historically under-served students will have increased access to advanced-placement tests, thanks to a $189,781 grant from the U.S. Department of Education.
Ridgeland, HUD Reach Settlement in 'Shifting Demographics' Dispute
Just a few months after the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a complaint against the City of Ridgeland for alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act, it announced a conciliatory agreement with that city yesterday.
State Stiffs After-School Programs
In addition to project-based learning, SR1 kids travel statewide and compete in robotics tournaments and visit college campuses. They perform well on state-testing assessments across all subject areas, not just math. Even their parents get help from SR1on how to advocate for them as students.
State Fund Mismanagement Threatens Afterschool Programs Like Shoestring
A month after the Mississippi Department of Education announced it would slash 21st Century Community Learning Center grants, kids at Operation Shoestring, a nonprofit afterschool program in Jackson, still make time to learn and play.
Public-School Rankings Present Concerns for Districts, Families
Even though Davis Magnet International Baccalaureate Elementary School in the Jackson Public School District is ranked an A by the Mississippi Department of Education—and the best elementary school in the state by SchoolDigger.com— principal Dr. Kathleen Grigsby says it is too early to celebrate.