School Focus
School Focus
Welcome Contributors
A new school year is beginning, and we at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) are excited to have Dr. Kim Benton (p. 8) stepping in as the interim state superintendent of education.
Mississippi has seen tremendous growth in education under the leadership of Dr. Carey Wright, who retired in June. We are committed to continuing and advancing the many gains our schools have made under Dr. Wright’s leadership, and we are confident Mississippi students will continue to thrive because of the dedication of our administrators and teachers.
This issue highlights Mississippi’s 2022 administrator, teacher and parent of the year. Administrator of the year Kara Killough (p. 10) champions for her teachers and students and strives to create a fun, positive learning environment as the principal at Northwest Rankin Elementary. Skye Morgan, a history teacher at Petal High School and the 2022 teacher of the year, uses her theater background to help students find their voice (p. 18). Parent of the year Tara Denevan (p. 32) strives to impart the importance of community service to her own children.
MDE continues to provide tools to support our educators, such as the Mississippi Educator and Administrator Professional Growth System (p. 30), workshops aimed at helping schools targeted for additional support better understand their data (p. 24) and MDE coaches who collaborate with early learning collaboratives (p. 4).
This issue recognizes the continued achievements in our schools. Seventy high schools received the 2021 College Success Award (p. 8), 73.9% of third graders passed the initial administration of the third grade reading assessment (p.29) and Mississippi was one of only five states (p. 9) recognized for high-quality pre-K by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER).
We hope you have a fantastic 2022-2023 school year, and please let our MDE staff know how we can support you.
Wendy Clemons
Associate State Superintendent
Mississippi Department of Education
Editor-in-Chief
Dr. Kim S. Benton
Associate Editor
Jean Cook
Managing Editor
Brock Turnipseed
Editor
Heather Tucker Designer
Chris McMillen
Writers
Heather Tucker
Will Graves
Brock Turnipseed
All photos were submitted by the MDE or their respective districts unless otherwise noted.
On the Cover
Ryan
Tupelo Public School District students Jenahsis Fields (front), Charles Rhea (middle) and Ghali Kettani (back) work on projects in their classroom computer lab.
Photo credit:
Coon, Tupelo Public School District
Collaborating for Learning
MDE Coaches Support Early Learning Collaboratives
quite seriously.
People often think of pre-K and kindergarten education as fun and games, but Mississippi — who has supported early learning classrooms with coaching collaborations since 2015 to help them meet state benchmarks — takes this play
During the 2021-2022 school year, the Department of Early Childhood at the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) hosted 330 learning collaboratives with more than 30 coaches who help ensure teachers and students across the state are equipped with all the
activities, equipment and knowledge they need to help preschoolers and kindergartners engage in play that results in both learning and preparation for literacy and other early childhood landmarks.
Dr. Jill Dent, director of Early Childhood at MDE, says educators are able to build trust with their
Heather Tucker
coaches because their assigned coach works alongside them for multiple school years.
“We start by building a relationship with the teachers, who quickly learn that we are there to help them with anything from room arrangement and materials to lesson planning and question asking,” Dent said.
The MDE plans to hire 10 more coaches for the coming year, along with a number of support staff to help with the program.
Michael Mozee, who supports teachers in North and South Mississippi, says it has always been important to him to see male educators in the classroom, so he dedicated his life to early child -
hood learning, starting his career at Isable Elementary School as a pre-K teacher.
Mozee also says that trust is the most valuable aspect of the teacher-coach relationship. “Of all the things we want to do for them, we know that building trust is everything because we sincerely want to help them give their students what they need,” he said.
“It is usually a learning experience for the coaches more so than the teachers. We are assistants who are able to offer support through our strengths-based coaching method, and that starts with learning what the teachers need to serve their students well,” Dent said.
Heather Lyons, pre-K coordina-
tor in the Lamar County School District, just completed her fifth year with Sandra Watkins, the coach for her school’s collaborative.
“[Watkins] is really gifted at coming alongside teachers. She takes the time to get to know them and build trust. She is able to take the assessment components and help teachers grow,” Lyons said.
The combination of professional development, coaching and family engagement opportunities that the coaching collaborations create for classrooms and centers across the state does more than improve the quality of the programs — the concerted effort at supporting teachers also results in improved retention rates.
Opposite page: Longleaf Elementary (Lamar County School District) teachers make story time active to keep students engaged. Above: An Oak Grove (Lamar County School District) teacher gets on her students’ level to engage their attention. Photos by Rory Dyle, MS First
We start by building a relationship with the teachers, who quickly learn that we are there to help them with anything from room arrangement and materials to lesson planning and question asking.
-Dr.
Jill Dent director of Early Childhood at MDE
“It is such a great opportunity to grow staff for the long term without adding more overhead. It has proven to reduce teacher turnover in our programs. We had seven new hires last year who are all returning; that gives us 13 total who are all coming back from teaching here previously. Teachers feel a sense of support and collaboration in the coaching opportunities,” Lyons said.
Mozee explains that his role as a coach is to provide activities, methods and guidance to the teachers in his collaborative.
“I say support as a verb, and I focus on giving support from the perspective of a teacher,” Mozee, who worked in pre-K and kindergarten for almost 10 years, said.
Dent, Lyons and Mozee all agree that the coaching collaboratives result in success for students and teachers across the state.
“Teachers are welcoming and open to resources, information gathering and other help to create the best environment for their students,” Dent said.
“We begin by observing and giving feedback, but the most important thing we do is modeling,” Mozee said of his coaching experience.
“The method of learning, observing, offering feedback and modeling is truly the key to successfully bridging our students’ learning from toddler years to pre-K and kindergarten.”
“Adults often think that pre-K and kindergarten are all fun and
games, but play truly is the work of a child. There is a lot that goes into teaching children and making sure they are learning while having fun. The coaching collaboratives help us make sure that learning is happening,” Lyons said.
Above: Longleaf Elementary students (Lamar County School District) practice sight words during carpet time.
Above: Students at Oak Grove Primary (Lamar County School District) share their magnetic creation with their teacher. Below: Lamar County School District’s (LCSD’s) Heather Lyons helps students with their early reading skills during outdoor playtime.
Benton Named Interim State Superintendent
The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) appointed Dr. Kim Benton to become interim state superintendent of education, succeeding Dr. Carey Wright who retired on June 30 after more than eight years as Mississippi’s state superintendent of education.
Benton moves into the role after serving as the interim chief academic officer/deputy state superintendent for the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE). She brings 40 years of experience working in public education in Mississippi, starting as a teacher’s assistant and then as a teacher, principal and executive director of special populations and federal programs in the Meridian Public School District. She previously served as MDE’s chief
academic officer for six years before retiring from the agency in 2018.
Benton subsequently worked as a consultant and trainer for the Academic Development Institute, providing leadership services to multiple state education departments and Regional Comprehensive Centers and the National Comprehensive Center, which is funded by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition, she served as associate professor in educational leadership at William Carey University and as interim superintendent for the Mississippi Schools for the
Deaf and Blind.
As MDE’s chief academic officer, Benton was in charge of implementing several hallmark initiatives, including the Early Childhood Collaborative Act, the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards and the Literacy Based Promotion Act.
“Dr. Benton has worked alongside Dr. Wright during most of her tenure and has been instrumental in helping to lead the state’s successful education reform efforts,” said Rosemary Aultman, SBE chair. “The Board is confident Dr. Benton will continue the progress we have made in public education over the past decade as we begin the search for a permanent state superintendent.”
70 Mississippi High Schools Receive National Award
Seventy Mississippi high schools received a prestigious 2021 College Success Award recognition from GreatSchools.org for excelling at preparing students to enroll and succeed in college as determined by available data in each state.
GreatSchools.org is the nation’s leading nonprofit for providing school information to parents and families and has conducted the College Success Award annually since 2018.
Mississippi schools recognized for 2021 are among 1,838 high schools from 25 states that demonstrated a successful track record of graduating
students who enroll in two- or fouryear college, are ready for college-level coursework and persist on to their second year. School, district and state education leaders in these 25 states were undeterred by the COVID-19 pandemic’s challenges and provided the critical data transparency needed to help communities understand paths to success from high school to college.
The College Success Award is possible because Mississippi is among states leading the nation in both collecting and transparently sharing information on how students perform after high school, which is valuable
information for families, educators and policymakers.
“We applaud Mississippi schools for prioritizing high-quality public education, putting students on the path to bright futures,” said Jon Deane, CEO of GreatSchools.org. “Over the past two years, students, parents, teachers and communities have relied on one another like never before. We congratulate and thank everyone for their unwavering pursuit of college success for all students.”
To learn more about the College Success Award, visit www.greatschools.org/mississippi/college-success-award.
Benton
Mississippi Recognized for High-Quality Pre-K
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) recognized Mississippi in its latest report on pre-K quality as one of only five states whose state-funded pre-K program meets all 10 quality standards for early childhood education.
The latest ranking is published in the NIEER report, The State of Preschool 2021. The annual survey provides an in-depth look at state-funded education for 3- and 4-year-olds nationally and in each state with a focus on enrollment, spending and 10 policies that support quality education.
NIEER evaluated Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) programs, which are partnerships among school districts, Head Start agencies, childcare centers and non-profit organizations. The program has grown from 11 collaboratives serving 1,700 children in 2014 to 30 collaboratives that will serve 6,000 children in 2022-23.
Because of the quality of the ELCs, Mississippi has consistently been one of only several states meeting all NIEER standards.
The Mississippi Legislature passed the Early Learning Collaborative Act in 2013, which provided $3 million to establish a limited number of collaboratives in underserved areas throughout the state. Funding increased in subsequent years based on the program’s immediate success reaching $8 million by 2020-21 and doubled to $16 million in 2021-22.
The Mississippi State Board of Education has made increasing access to high-quality early childhood education one of its top priorities. The Mississippi Department of Education has partnered with the W.K. Kellogg
Foundation to build the state’s early childhood education infrastructure through coaching and professional development and by providing guidance and support to school districts. State funds now support these efforts.
“The quality of Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative program has made our state a national leader for early childhood education,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the now-retired state superintendent of education for Mississippi. “Research consistently shows that high-quality early childhood education has a long-term impact on student achievement. Children who participate in high-quality pre-K programs achieve higher levels of school readiness, reading proficiency by third grade and higher graduation rates.”
The proportion of Mississippi 4-yearolds enrolled in ELCs rose from 3% in 2016-17 to 7% in 2020-21. When combined with Head Start (27%) and special
education pre-K programs (3%), approximately 37% of Mississippi 4-year-olds attended public early childhood education programs in 2020-21. COVID-19 disruptions caused 337 fewer children to enroll in collaboratives in 2020-21 compared to 2019-20.
“The pandemic has made it even clearer that such preschool programs are essential for young children and their families,” said W. Steven Barnett, Ph.D., NIEER’s founder and senior co-director. “Mississippi is moving in the right direction, doubling the state investment in preschool to enable more children to attend the program in the coming years.”
Mississippi’s national ranking for pre-K improved since last year from 39th to 38th for access and 42nd to 39th in state spending per child.
Read the State of Preschool Report at NIEER.org.
Killough Builds Strong Community to Champion for Students Administrator 2022 OF THE YEAR
Brock Turnipseed
Kara Killough believes you cannot educate a child until you connect with them.
She reflects back to sixth grade in the Rankin County School District (RCSD) and the connection she formed with her teacher, Pam Johnson. Little did she know that would ignite a passion for education that has impacted many and earned her the 2022 Mississippi Administrator of the Year.
“She really got to know us beyond what we could do academically. She believed in us, supported us, encouraged us, got to know our families and really kept in touch with us,” Killough said of Johnson. “She started building that relationship with us and poured into us to make us believe that we could do anything. I knew if she had that kind of impact on me, then I wanted to have that same impact on other students as well.”
Killough has done the same for numerous RCSD students, teachers and administrators over the past 13 years as principal at Northwest Rankin Elementary (NWRE) and earlier as assistant principal starting in 2004, when NWRE restructured and opened as a kindergarten through fifth grade school.
For Killough, who had been an administrative intern at Flowood Elementary and before that a fifth grade
Northwest Rankin Elementary (NWRE) principal Kara Killough presents first grader Madelyn Mohler a Random Acts of Kindness Student of the Month certificate. Killough was named 2022 Mississippi Administrator of the Year for the NWRE, located in the Rankin County School District (RCSD).
math and social studies teacher at Northwest Rankin Middle School, and her principal, Dr. Charlotte Young, it served as an opportunity to build the school’s culture.
“There were many lessons we learned and things we realized we could have done differently,” Killough said. “Over 18 years, we’ve been able to tweak and change things to fit the culture that we wanted to continue to define.”
Killough said Young brought laughter and fun into the learning environment, something she has continued to incorporate into NWRE as principal. Making learning fun helps Killough and her staff connect with students, leading to an environment where students want to learn.
The positive mindset in our elementary school is crucial because they are going through so many changes in their elementary years. Having a positive outlook, to me, is a non-negotiable in an elementary school where it is so needed.
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Kara Killough
NWRE Assistant Principal Jill Lay said a positive, welcoming environment resonated when she joined the school three years ago.
“You can see it in the pictures on the walls, in the way teachers greet you, in the way students greet you
and in the way everyone says ‘good morning’ and ‘good afternoon’ with smiles on their faces,” Lay said. “You have days when you’re just not feeling at your best, but on those days we rally around you and support you even more. It’s a very positive envi-
Confetti flies at NWRE as Killough (front row, third from left), school staff and RCSD administration celebrate the school earning an A rating on the Mississippi Schoolwide Accountability System in 2018.
Students
ronment. Having fun is important because we want our students to walk through the door with a smile and know we are going to challenge them academically but have fun while doing it.”
Connecting with students and being in tune with their social and emotional needs plays an integral role, something she learned from Johnson.
Building and maintaining those connections takes a village approach, and Killough sees NWRE as a family unit striving for a common goal. That family branches into the home, where she connects to parents through the school’s social media ac-
counts and home challenges families have to complete together.
The NWRE family has thrived during her 13 years as principal, growing from academic watch identification into an A-rated school on the Mississippi Statewide Accountability System in 2018. Killough said she held a big celebration to mark the culmination of the long journey.
Positive reinforcement is critical at all levels, especially in elementary school, which is why Killough was proud that NWRE implemented a positive behavior, intervention and support (PBIS) program and progressed to Tier 2 status, the only
RCSD school to achieve that designation.
“The positive mindset in our elementary school is crucial because they are going through so many changes in their elementary years,” Killough said. “Having a positive outlook, to me, is a non-negotiable in an elementary school where it is so needed.”
Because of the school’s varying age ranges, Killough said she considers the older NWRE students the “seniors” of the building and partners them with younger students.
“We have a diversity of ages, ability levels, socio-economic levels and
Left: Killough (left) and Assistant Principal Jill Lay delivered treats to teachers during the holiday season. Right: Killough, presents third grader Jaxon Bomgardner with a bike he earned for his hard work during third grade state tests. Killough and the NWRE staff used the theme Champions to challenge each student to be present, arrive on time and work hard on their state test.
earned tickets that could be used for various door prizes.
demographics,” Killough said. “But when we come into our school, we all have a common theme: We are respectful of each other, and we all have the goal to grow as much as we can and enjoy what we are doing.”
Lay said NWRE has been successful because of the culture and trust between the staff and students.
“You can’t have a successful school without a great leader who empowers her staff. She does a fan-
tastic job of relationship-building because she’s transparent. When you have that transparency and everyone trusts you and the decisions you’re making, they are going to follow you,” Lay said. “We don’t always get it right, but it all goes back to that relationship and them knowing that you have their backs. They know that about Kara. They know, at the end of the day, she is going to make decisions that are best for them.”
Lay knew when Killough was named RCSD Administrator of the Year that she would receive the state award. Still, Killough was honored and humbled.
“There are amazing principals and educators taking their buildings to unbelievable levels,” she said. “I’m honored to be selected. I never thought this recognition would come to me because I feel like it’s just what I’ve been called to do.”
Killough (front row, center) takes a photo with former NWRE students who returned to the school for a walk through prior to graduating from Northwest Rankin High School this spring.
MDE Adds 44 New Student Advisory Council Members
Tupelo SD
Haley Bertolet
Rankin County SD
Madelyn Berry
Joshua Bowman
Sunflower Consolidated SD
Tyren Boyd
Jackson Public SD
Chantity Braddock
Dorianne Hines
Chaz Jimenez
Jasmine Taylor
Kelsi Williams
Mississippi Achievement SD
Tren’Derryious Byest
Tylan Crockett
Ashantis Wigley
Oxford SD
Ria Contractor
Pascagoula-Gatier SD
Nadia Corder
Sophia Cuellar
Ja’Kaylee Minor
Ja’Shaylee Minor
Union Public SD
Rowan Feasel
Lamar County SD
Avery Foret
Abby Fulmar
Columbia SD
Elizabeth (Myers) Foxworth
Devyn Peters
West Jasper SD
Laila Goins
Jackson County SD
Hannah Heffner
Pontotoc County SD
Lindy Holley
McComb SD
Madison Jones
Noxubee County SD
Braylen Jones
Newton County SD
Holley Kiker
Rankin County SD
Qadre Latiker
Hattiesburg Public SD
Adamari Posadas
Long Beach SD
Christina Strahan
Stokley Sawyer
Mississippi School of Mathematics and Science
Mandy Sun
Richard Zheng
Enterprise SD
Michael Tvarkunas
Madison County SD
Almia Valentine
Yasmine Ware
Jefferson Davis County SD
Latayzha Lockhart
West Tallahatchie SD
Liyah McCord
Laurel SD
Xavier Washington
Petal SD
Renthony Wilson
Biloxi Public Schools
Monica Young
Hattiesburg Public SD
Adamari Posadas
Kosciusko SD
Reagan (Thomas) Smith
Meridian Public SD
Mikayla Smith
Poplarville SD
Tucker Smith
Pontotoc County SD
Laterius Williams
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) added 44 students last school year to the State Superintendent’s Student Advisory Council. The council includes students in grades 11 and 12 or first year of college to serve as members for a term of two school years.
More than 200 students from across the state completed the initial application step, and 76 submitted complete applications. The 44 selected will join the 85 students who are returning to the council from the previous school year or who qualified for the council by becoming a semifinalist for the junior Mississippi State Board of Education representative.
Students from different backgrounds, school sizes and regions in Mississippi were able to share their opinions and offer advice about educational opportunities and policy in Mississippi with Dr. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education, who retired in June.
“Members of the Student Advisory Council offer tremendous insight about their educational experiences and contribute valuable ideas about how to advance public education in Mississippi,” Wright said. “They are an excellent model for their peers across the state.”
The council’s purpose is to provide a forum for Mississippi’s students to offer diverse perspectives to the state superintendent. The selected students act as liaisons between MDE and public-school students from across the state. New members joining in 2022-23 were announced in October.
Full council meetings are held at least twice during the school year.
Two Mississippi Students Named 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars
Two Mississippi students are among the 58th class of U.S. Presidential Scholars, which recognizes 161 high school seniors for their accomplishments in academics, the arts and career and technical education (CTE) fields.
The Mississippi scholars are Petal High School (Petal School District) senior Ritchie Hao-Zun Yang and Pillow Academy (Greenwood) senior Dia Chawla.
Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, who retired in June, said the students, their families and schools should be proud of this national recognition.
“This honor recognizes the achievements of our nation’s most committed students who fully dedicate themselves to academic and personal excellence,” she said. “I congratulate these students for earning this national honor.”
The White House Commission on Presidential Scholars selects scholars annually based on their academic success, artistic and technical excellence, essays, school evaluations and transcripts, as well as a demonstrated commitment to community service and leadership.
“Our 2022 Presidential Scholars represent the best of America and remind us that when empowered by education,
there are no limits to what our young people can achieve,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “Today, I join President Biden to celebrate a class of scholars whose pursuit of knowledge, generosity of spirit and exceptional talents bring our nation tremendous pride. Throughout one of the most trying periods in our nation’s history and amid our recovery from the pandemic, our students have once again demonstrated their strength and that they have so much to contribute to our country. Thanks to them, I know America’s future is bright.”
Senior Amy Zhang of Starkville, the Mississippi State Board of Education’s outgoing senior representative, was a semifinalist for the award along with Kylar DeLoach of Enterprise High School in Enterprise, Jeffrey Jordan of Jackson Preparatory School in Jackson, Sarah Leroux of Madison Central High School in Madison, Madeline Pitre of Biloxi High School in Biloxi, Wesley Smalley of Florence High School in Florence and Yujie Yang of Oak Grove High School in Hattiesburg.
Of the 3.7 million students expected to graduate from high school
this year, more than 5,000 candidates qualified for the 2022 awards determined by outstanding performance on the College Board SAT or ACT exams or through nominations made by chief state school officers, other partner recognition organizations and YoungArts, the National Foundation for the Advancement of Artists.
As directed by Presidential Executive Order, the 2022 U.S. Presidential Scholars are comprised of one young man and one young woman from each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and U.S. families living abroad, as well as 15 chosen atlarge, 20 scholars in the arts and 20 scholars in CTE.
Created in 1964, the U.S. Presidential Scholars Program has honored over 7,900 of the nation’s top-performing students. The program was expanded in 1979 to recognize students who demonstrate exceptional talent in the visual, literary and performing arts. In 2015, the program was again extended to recognize students who demonstrate ability and accomplishment in career and technical education fields.
The Presidential Scholars Class of 2022 were recognized for their outstanding achievement with an online recognition program.
Yang
SBE Approves New Early Learning Collaboratives
The Mississippi State Board of Education (SBE) voted to add five new early learning collaboratives (ELCs) to the current list of 30 to provide high-quality early childhood education pre-K programs to 4-year-old students.
This ELC expansion is made possible by $5.9 million in state
funds to be used by June 2025. State funding for the ELC program has steadily increased over the years starting with a $3 million appropriation in 2013-14 when the program began to $24 million for the 2022-23 school year. The total state appropriation for the ELC program so far is $70.3 million. Biloxi ELC, Hollandale ELC, Jefferson County ELC, Lowndes County ELC and Pass Christian ELC were added in August.
Hinds ELC (Jackson Public Schools), Noxubee ELC, Senatobia ELC, Holmes ELC, Leland ELC, Long Beach ELC and Pontotoc
Pre-K Partners ELC (Pontotoc City only) were added in April.
The new ELCs will serve more than 3,500 pre-K 4-year-olds in 52 new classrooms and 136 existing classrooms. More than 6,800 total ELC students will be served in the 2022-2023 school year.
The Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013 established the ELC program, which provides funding to local communities to establish, expand, support and facilitate the successful implementation of quality pre-K early child -
hood education and development services. The main goal of establishing ELCs is to better prepare preschoolers for kindergarten.
In spring 2022, 65.12% of ELC students met the end-of-year target score, compared to 61.53% of students in other public pre-K classrooms, which included a variety of class configurations, including Title I, self-contained special education and other school district pre-K programs.
In 2022, the National Institute for Early Education Research
(NIEER) recognized Mississippi as one of only five states that met all quality standards for pre-K.
“One of MDE’s top goals is for every child to have access to a high-quality early childhood program, and the expansion of ELCs in the state helps us do that,” said Dr. Kim Benton, interim state superintendent of education. “This continual investment from Mississippi lawmakers supports greater outcomes for students and the state as a whole.”
Advanced Placement Achievement Rate Improves
Mississippi’s graduating class of 2021 achieved a 39.1% qualifying score rate for Advanced Placement (AP) exams, an increase from the previous year’s achievement rate of 38.2%.
AP courses are college-level courses offered by trained high school teachers. Students can earn three college credits for every AP exam they pass with a qualifying score of 3 or higher.
Among the class of 2021, 18.2% (4,972) of graduates took a total of 10,865 AP exams during their high school experience, according to the College Board’s AP Cohort Report for Class of 2021. Though achievement on AP increased, the number of students taking AP exams declined. Among the class of 2020, 20.7% (5,235) of graduates took a
total of 11,526 AP exams.
Though the class of 2021 saw a drop in AP participation, overall, the number of Mississippi students taking AP courses and passing AP exams have both nearly doubled since 2013.
“AP courses provide students with a rigorous level of learning and help them develop the study skills they need to be successful in college,” said Dr. Carey Wright, recently retired state superintendent of education. “The AP experience also helps colleges and universities identify students who can master college-level material.”
Mississippi’s AP policy entitles students who score 3 or higher on an AP exam to earn at least three college credits at any Mississippi public university or community
college. This policy has the potential to save Mississippi families millions of dollars on college tuition. In Mississippi, public and private high school students earned 5,914 AP qualifying scores of 3, 4 or 5 in 2021. These scores translate into a potential savings of close to $5.2 million in tuition for students and their families because each qualifying score is worth at least three college credits.
Research shows AP students are better prepared for college and more likely to graduate college in four years than non-AP participant peers. Students earning college credit can save what they would otherwise have to pay for another year of college.
Teacher 2022 OF THE YEAR
Giving Students a Voice: 2022 Teacher of the Year Uses Theater Background to Help Students
Heather Tucker
Spending a single minute listening to 2022 Mississippi Teacher of the Year (MTOY) Skye Morgan describe her teaching philosophy is enough to convince you of her passionate commitment to her students’ futures and creating a classroom environment where they can find and use their voices.
Morgan, a U.S. History teacher at Petal High School (PHS), said that comes easier in history classrooms where topics lead to civil discourse and differences of opinions, but it can also apply to any classroom environment.
“We are talking about really simple things: the way a teacher organizes their classroom, the way the teacher sets expectations for conversations and discussions. Allowing students to use their voice is really important,” she said.
Morgan describes her path to becoming a teacher as nontraditional. With a freshly earned degree in theater production, she worked in that field for a few — as she describes — unfulfilling years before her former theater teacher and speech and debate coach, Kelly Garner, asked Morgan to substitute for her classes while she was on maternity leave.
Then only 22, Morgan did not know what to expect teaching students so close to her own age. The outcome
Petal High School (PHS) U.S. History teacher Skye Morgan (right) celebrates receiving 2022 Mississippi Teacher of the Year (MTOY) with Kelly Garner, her former theater, speech and debate coach and current mentor and colleague.
surprised her.
“When Ms. Garner came back, I was so sad! I was like, ‘Are you sure you’re ready to come back?’” Morgan recalls. After that experience, Morgan felt called back to the classroom and earned a master’s degree in teaching from the University of Southern Mississippi. She then taught in the Richton School District and North Forrest High School before being hired at her alma mater.
As a former theater, speech and debate student, it was only natural that Morgan would excel as a teacher in those areas, but teaching history came into her life as yet another surprise.
“I loved the constitution and constitutional law. I loved presidential rhetoric, so I just put history on my license to give myself more opportunities during the recession,” Morgan said.
Morgan’s tips for cultivating civil discourse in classrooms:
• Organize your classroom in a way that promotes discussion.
• Set expectations for discussions and how students respond to one another.
• Give students examples of how to disagree in ways that create growth and change.
• Allow students to speak up: Don’t merely expect compliance; give students an environment where they feel safe to use their voice.
• Allow students to voice opinions not just with the teacher, but also in discussion with other students.
• Model the ways you would like to see discourse occur in our society rather than what our leaders are modeling right now.
• Model civil discourse in your discussions with other teachers and school leaders.
• Provide plenty of opportunities for students to practice civil discourse and encourage them as they make progress.
Morgan, second from left, is pictured receiving PSD Teacher of the Year.
After being hired to teach speech and debate at PHS, the principal called two days before school started to assign Morgan a U.S. History class. Morgan was hesitant, but the new administrator encouraged her to go ahead with the assignment. Morgan has had U.S. History on her schedule as her primary class ever since.
Despite having many years of successful teaching under her belt, Morgan is humble about her effect in the classroom and what it means to return to the classroom every day, even when things may not go well.
[Morgan] is in a continual state of improvement and is happy to share every idea that has been classroom-tested with any educator who needs it. She is supported by a remarkable group of teachers in her PLC. In this setting, everyone is a cheerleader for everyone. Working together to best serve students and grow one another as educators is the fundamental action of her PLC.
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Si Thompson
“It’s all about your spirit, right? You’ve chosen the most fulfilling profession there is, but you’re not going to feel fulfilled daily; there’s going to be really challenging days. It’s so important to let go of that day and not deem it a failure. It’s just an obstacle that you’ve got to climb over,” Morgan said.
“You’ve got to go back in the classroom the next day with better spirits. You can’t let each failure define who you are as a teacher or how valuable you are as a teacher,” she said. When asked how often Morgan
Left: Morgan is pictured with her first period class after being chosen as PHS’ teacher of the year.
applies this philosophy in her own career, she quickly responded, “Every day. I have to tell myself that every day. My class will leave, and I will say to myself, ‘Well, that was a mess!’”
Morgan’s students respond to her perseverance and humility positively. “Another class walks in, and I have the opportunity to redo [the lesson]. When that mess of a class walks in the next day, I’m just real with them and say ‘That did not go how I wanted it to. Can we try it again?’ They’re like, ‘Yeah, let’s do it again!’”
Garner, Morgan’s speech and debate mentor, describes her as “one of the most optimistic people I know. She always sees the good in her students and co-workers and makes friends wherever she goes.”
While Morgan passionately believes life as a teacher is one of perseverance and maintaining good spirits, her MTOY platform proves that her intentions for her students stretch far enough to affect them for the rest of their lives.
Garner says, “[Morgan] has always been a champion for a cause. Even as a high school student back in the 1990s, she was standing up against bullies and creating a safe environment for her fellow classmates. It is not surprising to me that she is still doing this today within her classroom, creating an arena so her students can practice the art of civil discourse and learn to be participants in our democratic society.”
Morgan’s former history teacher and current mentor Si Thompson, now retired, said “No matter socio-economic or cultural differences, [Morgan] believes all people have intrinsic worth. Her students are able to navigate through her practical principles to learning with her compassionate and quirky demeanor.”
Of all Morgan’s daily teaching activities, one that she is most proud of
is the professional learning community (PLC) she is a part of at PHS. It is an opportunity for her and the other history teachers to meet daily to discuss their methods and collaborate on ideas.
“[Morgan] is in a continual state of improvement and is happy to share every idea that has been classroom-tested with any educator who needs it. She is supported by a remarkable group of teachers in her PLC. In this setting, everyone is a cheerleader for everyone. Working together to best serve students and grow one another as educators is the fundamental ac-
tion of her PLC,” Thompson said. Morgan looks forward to the opportunity to share her platform of civil discourse on a national level.
“Allowing the classroom to become a proxy for our democratic system is super important to me. We can’t rely on our political and social leaders to model [civil discourse] anymore,” Morgan said. “We — classroom teachers and families — have to take that back and show students that civil discourse is important.
“We can disagree, and what will come out of that is growth.”
Right: Morgan (middle) was joined by her husband, Joel, and mother, Melodie Dickinson, at the MTOY ceremony in Jackson this spring.
Pearl River Central High School (PRCHS) teacher Chayna Adams (middle) is recognized for receiving a Milken Educator Award by (l-r) Greg Gallagher, senior program director of the Milken Educator Awards; Mississippi Department of Education Director of Educator Talent Acquisition and Effectiveness Dr. Courtney Van Cleve; Pearl River Central High School Principal Kimberly Alford; and Pearl River County School District Superintendent Alan Lumpkin.
Milken Award Winner
Pearl River Central Teacher Chayna Adams Receives Prestigious Honor
Pearl River Central High School (PRCHS) lead teacher Chayna Adams recently received the surprise of a lifetime when she was awarded an unrestricted $25,000 Milken Educator Award at an assembly in the school gym.
The Milken Educator Awards, created by the Milken Family Foundation in 1987, recognizes teaching excellence publicly not only to inspire educators, but also to show students and
communities about the importance of joining the teaching profession. The prestigious honor has been awarded at more than 60 schools across the nation in the 2021-22 school year and has been described as “the Oscars of Teaching.” More than $140 million in funding, including $70 million in individual $25,000 awards, has been devoted to the overall initiative, which includes powerful professional learn-
ing opportunities throughout recipients’ careers.
Adams, along with PRCHS students and staff, thought they were assembled to receive congratulatory remarks from the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) regarding the school’s commendable Algebra I scores. Instead, Milken Educator Awards Senior Program Director Greg Gallagher and MDE Director of Educa-
as
thoughts with the students,
dignitaries who just witnessed her Milken Educator
and
“We have the best kids we could ever want to teach on this campus,” she says. “Thank you for making our job so easy!”
tor Talent Acquisition and Effectiveness Dr. Courtney Van Cleve joined in the surprise to recognize Adams for her work as a model educator for the state and nation.
“Ms. Adams has done an extraordinary job challenging her students to meet and exceed high academic standards,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the retired state superintendent of education. “She is a wonderful example of our dedicated Mississippi educators who work hard every day to help students learn and succeed.”
Adams’ students and colleagues learn more than academics in her care; she teaches them pride, respect and commitment. After years of teaching math and heading the math department at PRCHS, Adams is now the school’s lead teacher, responsible for academic tier, schoolwide data and coaching support for instructional staff. She coaches new teachers in instructional practices, organizational skills, student interventions and data analysis. Adams also coordinates
school-level professional development based on school and state data. To support the school’s goals for constant improvement of academic and behavior goals, Adams plans and organizes schoolwide incentives for students who meet weekly and monthly targets.
“As a lead teacher, Ms. Adams serves as a model for her peers and works daily to elevate and strengthen the teaching profession,” said Van Cleve. “She is a worthy recipient of this year’s Milken Award. I join her students, school and community in congratulating her for this accomplishment.”
Adams’ data-driven classroom experience has served her well in her advancement into instructional leadership. As an algebra teacher, Adams used a wide variety of creative, handson strategies that support learning for students at all levels, including small group instruction, scaffolded partner activities, guided notes, whiteboard workouts, math Jeopardy and matching games. She tracked results on unit and district assessments on a data
wall and adjusted her instruction to address learning gaps. Adams constantly reinforced positive behaviors in the classroom and communicated with parents about both concerns and successes. Her dedication to student outcomes delivered notable results: The algebra pass rate at PRCHS is 94%, and students in the bottom 25% consistently meet growth and proficiency targets on state assessments.
As math department chair, Adams led instructional rounds, conducted data analysis, coached new teachers and led the professional learning committee. During pandemic school closures, she used virtual meetings to check in with her department weekly and created video and interactive digital lessons for teachers to use with students. Consulting with the math coach at the MDE, Adams led the redesign of all levels of the school’s algebra curriculum to align with state standards, increase rigor and make content accessible to remote-learning students. She has written test items for Algebra I for state assessments and presented at state and national conferences. Colleagues often observed in Adams’ classroom to learn from her skillful classroom management and instructional strategies.
Adams, who earned a bachelor’s in mathematics from the University of Southern Mississippi in 2009 and a master’s in educational leadership from Arkansas State University in 2014, has taught seven graduating classes at PRCHS, and many former students attribute their successes to her, especially with their college and career choices. She taught the school’s math ACT prep class, using individualized instruction plans to ready students for the important college entrance exams. Adams connects with all students regardless of their math abilities and often attends sports, family events and other activities outside the classroom.
Gallagher looks on
Adams shares some
colleagues
visiting
Award surprise.
Deciphering
THE DATA
Office of School Improvement Workshop Helps Schools Analyze Data
Brock Turnipseed
Data is critical in helping schools design plans that best meet the needs of their students. However, these plans can miss the mark without access to the proper data or the
ability to understand the picture the data is painting.
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Office of School Improvement (OSI) helped Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improve-
ment (TSI) and Additional TSI (ATSI) schools better understand data by piloting an Interventions 101 training this spring in conjunction with the Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit.
The training, held in three
Opposite page: Interventions 101 attendees collaborate on improvement plans during a May training in Biloxi. Top: Interventions 101 training attendees at the Mississippi State University Research and Curriculum Unit in Starkville listen as Dr. Dana Seymour, a program evaluator for the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), guides them through understanding trends in data. Bottom: Dr. Seymour leads an Interventions 101 training in Biloxi for the MDE Office of School Improvement. The trainings help schools targeted for improvement better understand data and use it to guide their improvement plans.
monthly sessions in Starkville, Canton and Biloxi, focused on finding evidence-based interventions for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Dr. Dana Seymour, a program evaluator at MDE, led the training and said all educators do not fully understand the terms strong, moderate and promising evidence outlined by ESSA.
Seymour has held this training for larger audiences, but focusing on these identified schools allowed the sessions to target the specific subgroups they are trying to reach in their improvement plans.
“I’ve been to the trainings and heard this before, but I did not really digest (the information) in the same way I did in this smaller setting,”
Noleen Clark, previous OSI coordinator of school improvement programs, said. “It brought it to life and helped in understanding it better.”
Training to utilize data for building capacity and improving instruction is one support offered to CSI, TSI and ATSI schools.
Schools are identified for CSI if they rank in the lowest 5% of Title I
schools or have a graduate rate less than or equal to 67%.
Schools were identified for TSI because their subgroup is in the lowest 50% of overall accountability index, is in the lowest quartile of three-year average gap-to-goal and has scores in the lowest quartile of three-year improvement toward gap-to-goal closure.
ATSI schools have a three-year average subgroup performance at or below that of all students in the lowest-performing schools (i.e., the bottom 5% of Title IA schools).
actual outcomes are looking like at that given time,” Robertson said.
The training adds another layer of evidence-based intervention
The first session, held in March, focused on examining data for determining what needed implementing.
“When they came in, they were very much like, ‘We need to improve all of our reading scores,’” Seymour said. “We started looking at the data, and we said, ‘Actually you don’t. It’s your students who have identified special needs who are the population you really need to focus on.’”
The data helps you focus so you can select some high-yield strategies. Without knowing exactly where the highest areas of need are, you could be throwing a lot of time and money on a peripheral problem.
- Dr. Dana Seymour
According to Dr. Sonja Robertson, OSI executive director, the Interventions 101 pilot allowed for training that targeted the identified schools’ individual needs.
“It was important to try to hone in on specific components or aspects of data analysis and look at what the evidence is telling them based on their specific intervention and what their
the schools can use to impact their areas of need. These schools have been using funding to implement evidence-based interventions since being identified for school improvement between fall 2018 and fall 2019.
Because the sessions built off each other, Robertson said schools were asked to commit to all three sessions and to send the same team to each training.
Seymour found it not only important to show the schools how to analyze the data, but also to have it in a format they could analyze. Numerical data in a pivot table made interpreting the data difficult, but that same data presented in a visual format made the information and trends stand out.
A better understanding of the data helped the following month when the schools discussed research literacy, where to find interventions and how to know what is needed.
Above: Seymour leads Interventions 101 training attendees in Canton through a discussion on determining who is responsible for analyzing data.
“The data helps you focus so you can select some high-yield strategies,” Seymour said. “Without knowing exactly where the highest areas of need are, you could be throwing a lot of time and money on a peripheral problem.”
Seymour said schools spend money on resources and programs that fail because they haven’t properly interpreted the data and identified the problems. Attendees brought programs they were considering purchasing, and they could do thorough research into those programs and evaluate the claims versus the cost.
Those decision-making tools were applied in the final session when dis-
tricts created their individual implementation plans.
“You spent this time looking at your data and finding interventions with good evidence to support that they’re effective, but if you don’t implement it well, it will fail,” Seymour said. “The third session basically examined how each phase of an implementation looks. Session two gave them the tools to make a decision, and they had to come to session three with an intervention in mind so we could write a plan to implement it.”
The smaller sessions allowed them to leave with a more individualized plan they could take back to their districts.
“We have a lot of turnaround where we have to send (the improvement plans) back. But in these trainings, we talked about the strategies they are funding and the goals they’re reaching for with those strategies,” Clark said. “They must identify the evidence level and the research that backs it. Those were the things that were brought out and refined in this process.”
As OSI looks to hold the training again in the future, Robertson said if they can help the schools they serve better understand their data and improve their outcomes, then “it’s well worth it.”
Participants work through an activity during an Interventions 101 training in Biloxi.
MDE Adds 49 Veteran Educators to MTAC
Aberdeen SD
Michelle Williamson
Bay St. Louis-Waveland SD
Robin Craft
Whittney Landrum
Biloxi SD
Michael Burkett
Blakely Fore
Clarksdale Municipal SD
Amanda Workman
DeSoto County SD
Toni Coleman
Gwenda Whitfield
George County SD
Della Morgan
Gulfport SD
Jennifer Wilson
Harrison County SD
Angel Klobe
Hazelhurst City SD
Veronica Wylie
Jackson Public SD
Vicki Latham
Lynsey McQueen
Kandice Taylor
Lafayette County SD
Penelope Allen
Christina Hill
Misty Wright
Lauderdale County SD
Angie Wilkinson
Laurel SD
Janie Brown
Bianca Knight
Long Beach SD
Rebecca Bradley
Lowndes County SD
Emily Edgar
Madison County SD
Lori Wilson
Midtown Public Charter Schools
Alfongelia Wallace
Monroe County SD
Kayla Tucker
Forty-nine experienced and highly regarded professionals from across the state were added to the Mississippi Teacher Advisory Council (MTAC).
Formed in 2016, the MTAC now includes 300 educators representing schools in urban and rural settings and an array of content areas, including general education, arts, special education and career and technical education.
North Bolivar Consolidated SD
Rena Brackin
Eric Bridgett
North Panola SD
Alyxandria Chaivre
Oxford SD
Jaleesa Mackey
Pass Christian SD
Launa Murray
Petal SD
Brittany Goff
Gwen Anne Merrill
Shanna Nesser
Pontotoc County SD
Kayla Brown
Rankin County SD
Amy Landfair
Lindsey Martin
Kimberly Watson
Scott County SD
Amanda Posey
Tate County SD
Jaymee Jarrett
Tupelo Public SD
Cheryl Dexter
Maria Foster
Ashley Nash Moton
Dedra Wray
Vicksburg-Warren SD
Kristy Brannon
West Bolivar Consolidated SD
Shana Merideth Bolden
West Point Consolidated SD
Stephany Watson
New Albany SD
Jacqueline Shirley
The purpose of the MTAC is to provide feedback to the state superintendent of education on the initiatives of the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), the Mississippi State Board of Education and the state Legislature. The MTAC empowers teachers to discuss topics critical to their success in the classroom and how the MDE can assist.
Yazoo County SD
Haley Crenshaw
“Hearing directly from teachers about their classroom experiences has helped me set priorities and has informed statewide decisions about policy, resources and professional development,” Dr. Cary Wright, the state superintendent of education who retired in June said.
MTAC members will continue working with interim state superintendent Dr. Kim Benton this fall.
Miss. Third Graders Find Success on Reading Assessment
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) announced that 73.9% of 31,068 Mississippi third graders received a passing score on the initial administration of the third grade reading assessment for the 2021-22 school year.
The passing rate presents a preliminary snapshot of third graders’ literacy proficiency as schools emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic. The last time Mississippi third graders took the assessment in a normal school year was April 2019 when 74.5% of 34,998 students passed the initial test.
“The hard work of teachers, students and parents to overcome academic setbacks caused by the pandemic is paying off. The initial pass rate on this year’s third grade reading assessment is nearly the same as the pre-pandem-
ic pass rate,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the recently retired state superintendent of education. “I celebrate this accomplishment and acknowledge there’s more work to be done.”
In accordance with the Literacy-Based Promotion Act (LBPA), third graders who do not pass the initial administration of the reading test are given up to two attempts to retest. After the final retest in 2019, 85.6% of third graders passed the test. Students did not test in 2020 due to the pandemic. The test was given in 2021, but the passing requirement was waived so no retests were administered.
The LBPA became law in 2013 to improve reading skills of K-3 students in public schools so every student completing the third grade is able to read at
or above grade level. The LBPA requires Mississippi third graders to pass a reading assessment to qualify for promotion to fourth grade. An amendment to the law in 2016 raised reading-level expectations starting in the 2018-19 school year, requiring third graders to score at level 3 or higher on the reading portion of the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program English Language Arts assessment.
Some students may qualify for good cause exemptions to be promoted to fourth grade.
Final district-level pass rates will be published in the fall in the Literacy-Based Promotion Act Annual Report of Performance and Student Retention for the 2021-22 school year.
Professional Growth System
Fosters Continuous Development, Collaborative Support for
Educator Effectiveness
Will Graves
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) Office of Educator Effectiveness (OEE) encourages and supports effective instruction and leadership in public schools by overseeing the Mississippi Educator and Administrator Professional Growth System (PGS).
What makes the PGS unique in its approach to educator professional development is the program’s focus on continuous improvement.
Administered at the school district level, the PGS is geared toward improving student outcomes by going beyond the traditional annual performance evaluation many veteran teachers and administrators may be accustomed to. The key word signifying the PGS’s overarching goal is growth.
“The PGS is designed to improve stu-
dent achievement by providing teachers and administrators with observations and feedback to inform continuous improvement,” said Dr. Courtney Van Cleve, MDE’s state director for educator talent acquisition and effectiveness.
As a specially designed professional development system for Mississippi’s public educators and administrators, the PGS fosters a collaborative relationship between the educator or administrator and their mentor observer. The program launched in 2016 and has been refined through four feedback-informed phases.
The PGS’s main component is to provide educators with meaningful coaching, actionable feedback and targeted professional learning. This is achieved through evidence-based observations, which help guide constructive feedback that fosters positive professional growth. This component, the heart of the PGS, enables school
leaders to assess performance and identify the top priorities for both individual and schoolwide professional learning.
Beyond the observation and feedback aspect of the system, Van Cleve said the PGS also utilizes annually submitted data to inform decision-making at the state level.
“We support the use of effectiveness data in decision-making statewide, such that we ultimately ensure that every school has effective teachers and leaders, which is outlined in goal number four in our State Board of Education strategic plan,” Van Cleve said.
Licensed educators and administrators must receive annual on-the-job performance assessment per the statewide public school accountability standards, so Van Cleve said MDE requires school districts to submit PGS data annually as an indicator of educator and administra-
Left: Dr. Courtney Van Cleve, director of the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE’s) Division of Educator Talent Acquisition and Effectiveness, explains the components of the Mississippi Educator and Administrator Professional Growth System (PGS) and their alignment with public school accountability standards during an informational presentation at the Columbus Municipal School District (CMSD). Middle and Right: Members of the CMSD Future Teachers Club participate in professional development to prepare for their future as educators in Mississippi. MDE’s Office of Educator Effectiveness provided expert advice and direction for the students to better understand and receive the most benefit from the PGS.
tor effectiveness.
In the PGS, educators receive multiple observation and feedback cycles per year, with teachers undergoing three observations and administrators undergoing two. Receiving feedback from multiple PGS cycles throughout the year allows educators and administrators to continuously refine their instruction and leadership.
With annual PGS data being gathered in each school district, school leaders can better identify opportunities for improvement on individual, school and district levels. The Columbus Municipal School District (CMSD) has been actively utilizing the PGS from the beginning. Although the initial implementation was challenging, the system has been a game-changer for supporting CMSD educators’ capacity to grow professionally in the art of teaching.
As with any new program or initiative, growing pains are part of the implementation, outcome and feedback cycle, which informs program improvement. As an early adopter of the PGS, CMSD ex-
perienced the challenges of getting the growth system functioning smoothly in the early stages of implementation. Once the PGS became more familiar to educators and administrators, the district began to see a shift in overall program acceptance and efficiency, ultimately helping school leaders realize the growth system’s potential to help educators take pause and reflect on their daily practice with board-approved standards and classroom expectations.
The PGS was so well received by CMSD educators and administrators that the MDE OEE was invited to introduce the growth system to the district’s Future Teachers Club, a learning experience the district felt was essential for preparing the next generation of Mississippi educators. The pared-down, informational PGS session acquainted the upper-class high school students with professional development through a continuous improvement model and discussed professional expectations
based on state teaching standards.
PGS feedback does more than just facilitate the growth of educators and administrators across the state. School district feedback to MDE about the PGS framework and its delivery makes the system a continuously evolving program that meets the professional needs of educators and administrators in public schools. According to CMSD, it ultimately helps improve student outcomes.
The PGS is grounded in its mission to help educators reflect on their teaching or administration experience by providing observations and continuous feedback that imparts opportunities to grow professionally and become more effective teachers and school leaders. The PGS provides growth at every level of school leadership, and the mentor-like instructional feedback relationship allows administrators and teachers to work collectively to improve student outcomes.
Parent 2022 OF THE YEAR
Denevan Extends Helping Hand to Support OSD Teachers and Students
Will Graves
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) has named Tara Denevan, a parent in the Oxford School District (OSD), the recipient of the 2022 Mississippi Parent of the Year award.
Denevan and her husband of 17 years, Shane, are the proud parents of son Brody, a upcoming freshman at Oxford High School (OHS), and daughter Lyla, a upcoming fifth grader at Central Elementary School. The family has been part of the OSD since Brody began pre-kindergarten, and Denevan’s involvement with the district has grown ever since.
As an active parent with children attending two different campuses, managing busy schedules and still finding time to volunteer and be present to support school activities can be a challenge, especially with Brody running on the OHS cross country team and Lyla participating in competitive dance. No matter how full the family’s personal schedules might become, Denevan said she feels led to help any way she can and appreciates OSD staff for allowing her to give back to the community.
“There’s not really a set title for what I do or even one particular thing I do, I’m just able to be there,” Denevan said. “The OSD strongly encourages parent involvement, and they have supported me and allowed me to be
2022 Parent of the Year Tara Denevan (center) and husband Shane are the proud parents of Lyla (front left) and Brody (right). As longtime community members of the City of Oxford, the Denevans regularly support the Oxford School District, the University of Mississippi and Ole Miss athletics.
present within the schools. Because of that, I’m able to see the needs firsthand and can get things done to help them help more children. Just like anybody, when I see a need I go after it and take care of it. You find a way to help where you can.”
Denevan has served as a substitute teacher and held many leadership roles with OSD’s parent teacher organizations (PTOs) throughout the years. With each campus in the district having its own PTO, Denevan was afforded more opportuni-
ties to participate in different projects and committees at both of her children’s schools.
One service project Denevan created – Charger Christmas Kids – provides Christmas gifts to students and families in need. The project started five years ago and has continued to grow.
“One of my children was at Oxford Elementary School, and the school counselor came to me and said, ‘Tara, we have 11 kids who I don’t have Christmas gifts for. Is there anything that you can do to help?’,” Denevan explained. “The month before we
had done a big canned food drive for Thanksgiving, and I just asked what all they needed. She said different churches in the community and other organizations would take some kids, but there were 11 that she didn’t have sponsors for, so I said ‘Yes,’ asked for clothing sizes, names and ages, and told her we would figure it out. I just started texting close friends and other PTO members, and within two days we had full Christmas wish lists purchased for these 11 kids.”
Though the project has been a significant undertaking as it has grown, it has become a community effort
in the City of Oxford to ensure every child in the OSD has a happy holiday season. Denevan now has an entire team of parents who help organize the service project, and the Oxford community steps up to help shop for children to fulfill their Christmas wishes. Denevan credits the growth and success of Charger Christmas Kids to the support of the Oxford community and the hardworking team of parents who make it all possible.
“Charger Christmas Kids has grown from 11 kids five years ago to over 300 kids this past year. Every year it has grown,” Denevan said. “We’re about to
(From left) Lyla, Tara, Shane and Brody Denevan attend an Ole Miss Football game at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium/Hollingsworth Field.
have seven schools in our school district, but for now we serve all six OSD schools, where counselors, administrators and teachers provide us with children’s names and their wish lists. We purchase for every single child in that family, and they are all provided with new coats, new shoes, new clothing and sometimes toiletries. We’ve even had people sponsor beds and mattresses. Anything that these children need or want, this community provides for them. If it wasn’t for them, this program and its mission would be nothing.”
With all of the ongoing projects and responsibilities Denevan manages, she truly enjoys just being around the students, teachers and parents of the OSD. However, she says she wants to use her involvement to show her children the importance of caring for others, extending a helping hand whenever possible and spreading love throughout the community.
“Anytime that I can get in the schools and spend one on one time with the kids is probably my favorite,” Denevan said. “Through Charger Christmas Kids, I’ve seen my own kids come to me when they notice a class-
Top left: Tara and Shane Denevan celebrate son Brody’s (center) academic achievement at an honors ceremony at Oxford Middle School (OMS). Brody was recognized for being added to the OMS Principal’s Honor Roll for the 2021-2022 school year. Top middle: Tara and Shane Denevan share a special moment with daughter Lyla (center) after she was named high score champion and earned more awards at a Star Dance Alliance competition. Top right: The Denevan family attends an Ole Miss football game in Oxford. Above: The Oxford School District Charger Christmas Kids volunteers take a quick break from sorting and delivering gifts to highlight the occasion with a group picture. Tara Denevan (front left) credits every member of the team for making the Christmas gift program a success.
mate in need. It makes me proud as a parent to know that they care about others. If none of what I do makes a difference to anyone else, at the
end of the day my children are more aware of the needs of others around them, so I feel I’ve done my job as their mother.”
Mississippi Class of 2021 Improves Advanced Placement Achievement Rate
Mississippi’s graduating class of 2021 achieved a 39.1% qualifying score rate for Advanced Placement (AP) exams, an increase from the previous year’s achievement rate of 38.2%.
AP courses are college-level courses offered by trained high school teachers. Students can earn three college credits for every AP exam they pass with a qualifying score of 3 or higher.
Among the class of 2021, 18.2% (4,972) of graduates took a total of 10,865 AP exams during their high school experience, according to the College Board’s AP Cohort Data Report for Class of 2021 issued today. Though achievement on AP increased, the number of students taking AP exams declined. Among the class of 2020, 20.7% (5,235) of graduates
took a total of 11,526 AP exams.
Though the class of 2021 saw a drop in AP participation, overall, the number of Mississippi students taking AP courses and passing AP exams have both nearly doubled since 2013.
“AP courses provide students with a rigorous level of learning and help them develop the study skills they need to be successful in college,” said Dr. Carey Wright, who retired as the state superintendent of education in June. “The AP experience also helps colleges and universities identify students who can master college-level material.”
Mississippi’s AP policy entitles students who score three or higher on an AP exam to earn at least three college credits at any Mississippi public univer-
sity or community college. This policy has the potential to save Mississippi families millions of dollars on college tuition. In Mississippi, public and private high school students earned 5,914 AP® qualifying scores of 3, 4 or 5 in 2021. These scores translate into a potential savings of close to $5.2 million in tuition for students and their families because each qualifying score is worth at least three college credits.
Research shows AP students are better prepared for college and more likely to graduate college in four years than non-AP peers. Students earning college credit can save what they would otherwise have to pay for another year of college.
