P -16 Committee got it start because some of the schools in Simpson County are at risk of failing. The schools at risk in Magee are the elementary and the middle school. Mendenhall Middle School also has a substandard rating; however, no representative of that school showed up for a November meeting held in Magee.
After questions surfaced about the functionality of the P-16 Committee, the school district set up a meeting with the members of the State Department of Education. This is a new program from the state perspective so the committee is operating a bit in uncharted water. We told the state that Simpson County would set the standard for other counties to pattern themselves after.
The P-16 Committee is made up of about 25 county residents so the leadership of the committee decided that a full meeting would not be called until relevant information could be discussed.
At the November meeting the principal and other school leaders discussed several issues that would help them. Magee Elementary’s leadership discussed the need for more community involvement and support. Dr. Lawrence, the principal, noted that when he first came to Simpson County, the Adopt-A-School program then in place was very helpful. He asked about reestablishing that committee.
Other areas that the schools have identified that they need help with are student attendance, community relations and dissemination of positive information about the schools.
It was determined that the Adopt-A-School program could be a good fit for some of the issues that the administration recommended. We took the suggestion to District Superintendent Greg Paes, and he was good at rejuvenating the program in Magee.
We spoke to some of the mainstay adopters in the program, and they agreed to help get Adopt-A-School back up and going.
The next requirement for getting Adopt-A-School reestablished was to get a host organization. The obvious choice was the Magee Chamber of Commerce. When the idea was pitched to the Chamber’s Board of Directors, they were receptive.
So not long after the first of the year, we will be re-launching the Adopt-A-School program as well as planning a large scale P-16 committee meeting. The goal of both organizations is to establish a support network to help improve our schools.
If you would like more information about either of these programs feel free to contact me either by phone or e-mail at pbrown@mageecourier.ms or give me a call at (601) 849-3434.
