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Starkville School District Celebrates Success
By Brother Rogers
It is an exciting time for the Starkville School District. Our test scores are improving, our dropout rate is decreasing and our graduation rate is increasing. The big picture looks good.
All construction projects have been completed at Sudduth Elementary, Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary, Armstrong Middle School and Starkville High School. Students on every campus are now benefiting from new or renovated facilities. These facilities, from the new physical education room at Sudduth that allows children to play inside on a rainy day to a brand new school building for the sixth grade, are state-of-the art.
Our first-class students, faculty, staff and administrators now have first-class facilities for instruction. At a time when others were cutting back, Starkville had the vision and the will to expand the capacity and the quality of its public schools.
Voters in the Starkville School District deserve a civic pat on the back. As the hometown of the state’s largest university, we put our money where our mouth is. This town supports education!
Well, how are we doing? Fortunately, we have a school district that prepares students for success in college and in life. Starkville High School graduates can be found in our nation’s military academies, Ivy League colleges and in Mississippi State University’s Distinguished Scholars program. The most recent graduating class earned more than $3 million in scholarships, an eye-popping, record amount. Starkville won the state championship in basketball. The choir performed at Carnegie Hall. The band achieved all superior ratings for the umpteenth year in a row.
Our students’ award-winning artwork hangs in the U.S. Capitol. Our school plays have won statewide drama awards. Our students compete well regionally, statewide and nationally in science fairs, history fairs, spelling bees and geography bees. The Starkville School District has nearly the largest number of nationally board certified teachers in Mississippi, and our academic course offerings are the best in the area.
All of these accomplishments are points of pride for the district, but none of them are used by the state of Mississippi to evaluate our schools. For better or for worse, our administrators and teachers are judged by how well our students perform on standardized tests, specifically the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition, also called the MCT2, and the Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) for high school students.
Public schools take on the daunting challenge of educating all students, including those who need remedial help, have special needs, are struggling in the middle and who are gifted. Meeting this challenge requires constant attention and effort, especially when a large percentage of students come from homes with difficult circumstances.
Reaching these children who in the past might have simply been passed over until they dropped out is vital to the future success of our schools and our community. Teachers, administrators and community volunteers are working hard and making progress as the improved scores attest – but it is a long and challenging road to success. It will require pulling together all of the resources and energy we can muster to meet this challenge.
We have new facilities, strong traditions, outstanding achievements, excellent leadership and improving test results. Clearly we are moving in the right direction. To continue this momentum, we must continue to focus on helping every child reach his or her God-given potential. Together, we can ensure a brighter future for the children of Starkville.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and immediate past president of Parents for Public Schools.
It is an exciting time for the Starkville School District. Our test scores are improving, our dropout rate is decreasing and our graduation rate is increasing. The big picture looks good.
All construction projects have been completed at Sudduth Elementary, Henderson Ward Stewart Elementary, Armstrong Middle School and Starkville High School. Students on every campus are now benefiting from new or renovated facilities. These facilities, from the new physical education room at Sudduth that allows children to play inside on a rainy day to a brand new school building for the sixth grade, are state-of-the art.
Our first-class students, faculty, staff and administrators now have first-class facilities for instruction. At a time when others were cutting back, Starkville had the vision and the will to expand the capacity and the quality of its public schools.
Voters in the Starkville School District deserve a civic pat on the back. As the hometown of the state’s largest university, we put our money where our mouth is. This town supports education!
Well, how are we doing? Fortunately, we have a school district that prepares students for success in college and in life. Starkville High School graduates can be found in our nation’s military academies, Ivy League colleges and in Mississippi State University’s Distinguished Scholars program. The most recent graduating class earned more than $3 million in scholarships, an eye-popping, record amount. Starkville won the state championship in basketball. The choir performed at Carnegie Hall. The band achieved all superior ratings for the umpteenth year in a row.
Our students’ award-winning artwork hangs in the U.S. Capitol. Our school plays have won statewide drama awards. Our students compete well regionally, statewide and nationally in science fairs, history fairs, spelling bees and geography bees. The Starkville School District has nearly the largest number of nationally board certified teachers in Mississippi, and our academic course offerings are the best in the area.
All of these accomplishments are points of pride for the district, but none of them are used by the state of Mississippi to evaluate our schools. For better or for worse, our administrators and teachers are judged by how well our students perform on standardized tests, specifically the Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition, also called the MCT2, and the Subject Area Testing Program (SATP) for high school students.
Public schools take on the daunting challenge of educating all students, including those who need remedial help, have special needs, are struggling in the middle and who are gifted. Meeting this challenge requires constant attention and effort, especially when a large percentage of students come from homes with difficult circumstances.
Reaching these children who in the past might have simply been passed over until they dropped out is vital to the future success of our schools and our community. Teachers, administrators and community volunteers are working hard and making progress as the improved scores attest – but it is a long and challenging road to success. It will require pulling together all of the resources and energy we can muster to meet this challenge.
We have new facilities, strong traditions, outstanding achievements, excellent leadership and improving test results. Clearly we are moving in the right direction. To continue this momentum, we must continue to focus on helping every child reach his or her God-given potential. Together, we can ensure a brighter future for the children of Starkville.
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and immediate past president of Parents for Public Schools.