April 26, 2013
JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) honored 54 schools Thursday for academic achievement or progress during a ceremony at the Central High School Building. MDE staff recognized schools that have earned the title of High Progress, High Performing or Distinguished under federal Title 1 guidelines as “Champions of Change”.
“These schools have demonstrated to their communities, state leaders and even at a national level, that our students are up to the challenge of increased rigor and are capable of greatness,” said Dr. Kim Benton, interim deputy state superintendent for instructional enhancement and internal operations.
The federal Title I program provides funding to schools across the country for students at risk of failure and living at or near poverty. The goal of funding is to provide students with a fair and equal opportunity to meet challenging academic standards and to help school districts close the achievement gap.
The High Progress status was awarded to 28 schools around the state. High Progress schools have demonstrated the greatest gains in closing gaps for student achievement over the past two years. These schools represent the highest 10 percent of schools that have improved their QDI scores overall in two years.
Ten schools earned the High Performing status because they have been in the highest 20 percent of all schools in the state for the past three years, and 16 schools earned the 2013 Title 1 Distinguished Schools status for exceptional student performance for two or more consecutive years and effective strides in closing the achievement gap. Both Bates Elementary in Jackson Public School District and Davis Elementary in Greenwood Public School District have earned national recognition as Title 1 Distinguished Schools.
Dr. Lynn House, interim state superintendent of education, said the students and staff should be commended for their hard work, and she encouraged school and district teachers and administrators to continue to strive for excellence.
“We all have to stay on a continuous cycle of improvement. We shouldn’t be satisfied with where we are. We can always find ways to be better,” she said.
The list of schools can be found here.
Media Contact:
Patrice Guilfoyle, APR
Director of Communications
601-359-3706
Jean Cook, APR
Communications Specialist
601-359-3519