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School Choice Week Rally Kicks Off at Capitol
With dozens of children bundled in primary color-coded uniforms and matching yellow scarves, the second floor of the Capitol looked like a scene from Hogwarts Tuesday morning as students, educators, and parents from surrounding private and charter schools met for a rally to kick off National School Choice Week.
Casey Elementary State's Only National Blue Ribbon School
Casey Elementary School students, faculty, parents and community leaders gathered outside the school's front doors in north Jackson this morning to honor its designation as Mississippi's only 2015 National Blue Ribbon School with a ceremonial flag raising.
State Supe: Poverty Drives Chronic Absenteeism, 'Proactive' Solutions Needed
Poverty is a primary driver of chronic school absenteeism, the state superintendent of education said yesterday, while calling for "proactive" ways to reverse the problem.
Jason Necaise
Jason Necaise has lofty goals and a resume of solid accomplishments onto which he can rely to help him achieve them.
‘The First Time I Got Shot, I Was in Fifth Grade'
Tommie Mabry's world changed when he was shot in the foot in high school on a day he chose to skip class.
Tollison: 'No Data' Show That Appointing Superintendents Helps School Achievement (UPDATED)
"No data" back the idea that appointing school superintendents rather than electing them will actually raise test scores or improve achievement in the state's public schools, the author of the legislation said today in the Mississippi Senate.
Rep. Moore: 42 Campaign Used Teachers like 'Cheap Rug,' Authors Bill to Limit Politicizing
School-district personnel need to politicize on their own time, rather than during the performance of their official school-related duties, Rep. John Moore, R-Brandon, told the Jackson Free Press today, adding that they are often used like a "cheap rug" for political purposes.
Legislators Determined to Tinker with Public Ed
Just three months after Initiative 42 failed in the November election, the Mississippi Legislature has already seen an explosion of controversial education bills—with school consolidation leading the pack.
Charter School Expansion Bills Ignite House, Senate
So far, only two charter schools operate in the state, but the Mississippi House and Senate Education Committees met yesterday in hot debate over the establishment of more.
Lawsuit: Charter School Law 'Heralds a Financial Cataclysm' in Mississippi
On July 11, the Southern Poverty Law Center filed a lawsuit on behalf of some Jackson parents against Gov. Phil Bryant, the Mississippi Department of Education and Jackson Public Schools, challenging a funding provision of the Mississippi Charter Schools Act.
Kids, Cops and Community Policing
In a nation that is noticing the high incidents of police killing, particularly of black men, public outcry from groups like #BlackLivesMatter and others insist upon police transparency and accountability due to generations of shattered trust between law enforcement and minority communities.
No 'Failing' Districts, but Two Jackson Middle Schools Get 'F' in State Scoring
Just over a third of Mississippi's public-school districts scored a "C" than any other grade on the Mississippi Department of Education district accountability scores released this week.
'Young, Fun, Sexy and Hot': Education Leader Wants Passion in Teaching
Ron Clark, founder of the Ron Clark Academy, a private, nonprofit school in Atlanta, says he wants education to be "young, fun, sexy and hot."
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.