NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: Dec. 15, 2022
JACKSON, Miss. – The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) has approved plans for the Vicksburg Warren School District to become a District of Innovation and for the Jackson Public School District Middle College to become a School of Innovation for the 2023-24 school year.
Mississippi will have 11 total Districts of Innovation in 2023-24. The other 10 are Booneville School District, Corinth School District, Grenada School District, Gulfport School District, Hinds County School District, Oxford School District, Pascagoula-Gautier School District, Rankin County School District, Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District and Tupelo Public School District. Mississippi will have 19 total Schools of Innovations. See complete list at mdek12.org/ese/Schools-of-Innovation.
“I applaud all of these districts and schools for taking the initiative to creatively enhance learning opportunities for students,” said Dr. Kim Benton, state superintendent of education, interim. “As designated Districts and Schools of Innovation, they are creating greater access to rigorous coursework, business/industry partnerships, and engaging learning experiences for students. The MDE looks forward to working with them to foster their innovative efforts.”
Legislation passed in 2015 allows school districts and schools within a district to apply for District of Innovation or School of Innovation status, which enables the district or school to request exemptions from certain state regulations to improve student achievement. Through the innovative model, districts and schools have flexibility in areas such as seat time and teacher certification to allow for innovative scheduling and instruction.
Districts of Innovation and Schools of Innovation are intended to expand learning choices, implement rigorous standards, reduce achievement gaps, reduce student remediation post-graduation, increase student engagement and increase the number of students who are ready for college and/or career.
The Vicksburg Warren School District’s plan centers around equipping all students from Pre-K through 12th grade for college, career, and life. The plan includes innovation to ensure students meet the growing workforce development needs in Vicksburg, Warren County and South-Central Mississippi. Some of the district’s goals are to increase the number of dual credit courses taken by high school students by 3% annually, improve average senior composite ACT scores from 16.2 to 18, increase and sustain the district’s graduation rate from 88% to 90%, increase the number of signed business partners and create a Pathway of Accelerated Learning (PAL) pilot program in upper elementary school(s) to develop the skills necessary to earn the Distinguished Academic Endorsement upon graduation.
The plan for the Jackson Public School District Middle College is to create a “grow your own” pipeline of mathematics teachers for the Jackson Public School District by providing a collegiate experience to enhance content knowledge and develop highly effective pedagogy. Some of the goals are to increase the number of college credits for students in groups typically underrepresented in college and develop a partnership with a local college which will foster high levels of collaboration between the school district and collegiate faculty.
Click link to see complete plans and goals visit this link.
Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.
Media Contact:
Jean Cook, APR
Chief of Communication
601-359-3515
jcook@mdek12.org
Shanderia Minor
Public Information Officer
601-359-3515
sminor@mdek12.org