| Magee Courier-Simpson County News

Student cellphone use, teacher survey results discussed at Miss. Board of Education meeting

Fri, 10/18/2024 - 05:35 PM

Support growing for more restrictions in schools as teachers cite student cellphone use as major distraction in classrooms.

Student cellphone use in schools and the results from a teacher survey led Thursday’s meeting of the Mississippi State Board of Education.

Average freshman to sophomore retention for Mississippi universities at 81 percent, IHL Board told

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Thu, 10/17/2024 - 04:21 PM

Two new degree programs at the University of Mississippi were also approved by the IHL Board at Thursday’s meeting.

The Board of Trustees for the Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning approved requests to implement new degree programs and heard an update about enrollment statistics during Thursday’s meeting.

At the end of the meeting, Commissioner Dr. Alfred Rankins provided an enrollment and graduation update for the 2022-2023 academic year, saying enrollment totaled 86,458.

Mendenhall High School "Tiger Pride" Marching Band prepares for the MHSAA/MBDA 4A State Marching Championship on Saturday, October 26

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Thu, 10/17/2024 - 10:48 AM

The Mendenhall High School “Tiger Pride” Marching Band competed at The MHSAA/MBDA Region IV State Marching Band Evaluation, held at Pearl High School on Saturday, October 12th. The band received superior ratings in all captions and qualified to compete at The MHSAA/MBDA 4A State Marching Championship on Saturday, October 26th.

The MHSAA/MBDA State Championship is an annual band competition with bands from across the State of Mississippi. It is intended to select the top high school band in each class in the state.

Pumpkins in the Park!

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Wed, 10/16/2024 - 08:49 AM

A Survivor’s Story - Katrina Lee

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Wed, 10/16/2024 - 08:41 AM

*This is the third in a series of articles on breast cancer survivors in recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Primary physician, oncologist, nutritionist, general surgeon, plastic surgeon, chemotherapy nurses, radiation therapists — the team defined by Katrina Lee necessary to treat her breast cancer found in April 2021.

‘In a panic’: USM faculty vote no-confidence in program review

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Tue, 10/15/2024 - 11:41 AM

Faculty at the University of Southern Mississippi are pushing back on an administrative plan to cut low-enrolled programs.

Earlier this month, the faculty senate voted no-confidence in the program review process that President Joe Paul announced earlier this school year as part of his administration’s efforts to afford future faculty pay raises.

Majority of Mississippi school districts allow students access to cellphones. That could change

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Fri, 10/11/2024 - 04:21 PM

The Mississippi Department of Education surveyed all school district superintendents about their student cellphone use policies and practices. See what the districts had to say.

The Mississippi Senate’s Mental Health Task Force recently held a hearing where lawmakers discussed possible legislation to curb cellphone use in schools. The move, legislators contend, largely centers around concerns over mental health in K-12 students and distractions in the classroom.

The University of Southern Mississippi's administration building. Credit: Eric J. Shelton, Mississippi Today/ Report for America

Southern Miss oral history center launches podcast about Mississippi in World War II

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Fri, 10/11/2024 - 04:01 PM

The University of Southern Mississippi’s Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage launched a new longform podcast about Mississippians in World War II.

Mississippi universities adapting to workforce, employment needs

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Thu, 10/10/2024 - 01:01 PM

Representatives from Miss. State, Ole Miss, Southern Miss and Jackson State recently met with the state Senate’s Labor Force Participation Study Group.

Representatives with each of Mississippi’s four public research institutions of higher learning presented information on how they can help improving the workforce participation rate in the state during a recent meeting of the Senate Labor Force Participation Study Group.

Youth mental health task force makes recommendations, including workforce development and addressing cell phones in schools

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Thu, 10/10/2024 - 12:31 PM

The committee tasked with studying young people’s mental health made recommendations to the state Legislature Oct. 1.

The group proposed measures to shore up the state’s youth mental health workforce, enhance behavioral health training for school officials and school resource officers and screen students statewide for mental health concerns.

“Our mental health resources are so sparse and stretched,” said State Health Officer Dr. Dan Edney at the task force’s final meeting on Sept. 18.

A Survivor’s Story -Sandra Ashley

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Wed, 10/09/2024 - 09:06 AM

This is the second in a series of articles on breast cancer survivors in recognition of October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Sandra Ashley and her husband Dale love to travel. The couple retired a few years ago, sold their home, bought an RV and took off on the open road.
For three years they traveled across the country enjoying their home on wheels complete with a chef’s kitchen, fire place, king size bed, washer/dryer and even two vanity bathrooms. “It’s big!” said Sandra, and they currently live in it in Mt. Olive.

Mendenhall Yard of the Month

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Wed, 10/09/2024 - 08:43 AM

The Mendenhall Business Women’s Club selected Jessica and Colt Smith‘s home at 701 East Street, Mendenhall as October’s Yard of the Month.

Latino: State Superintendent of Education is wrong on school choice

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Tue, 10/08/2024 - 12:21 PM

Below is a political opinion column by Russ Latino:

States around Mississippi, including Louisiana, Arkansas and Alabama, have all passed education savings account legislation that allows students to decide for themselves whether to attend public or private school. The laws reflect both dissatisfaction with the status quo and a recognition that families, not the government, should bear the ultimate decision on how best to educate their children.

New superintendent: Private schools receiving public money should be held to public education standards

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Tue, 10/08/2024 - 12:01 PM

Lance Evans, the state’s new superintendent of education, said if private schools receive public money they should be held to the same standards as public schools.

“I am going to be very clear — I am a public educator,” Evans said Monday in response to a question about vouchers during a lunch meeting of the Mississippi State University Stennis Institute of Government/Capitol Press Corps. “Bottom line — never doubt that. I support public schools.”

Marcus Thompson addressed reporters in his first press conference as Jackson State University’s 13th president on Nov. 30, 2023. Credit: Molly Minta/Mississippi Today

Jackson State eying downtown Marriott as solution to student housing shortage

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Fri, 10/04/2024 - 04:11 PM

Jackson State University has been eying an empty hotel in downtown Jackson as a potential solution to its shortage of student housing.

President Marcus Thompson pitched the project — a $5 million purchase of the Jackson Marriott at 200 E. Amite St. — to the university’s governing board last month, calling it a forward-thinking win-win for the historically Black university and the capital city.

Ervin: Make it make sense

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Thu, 10/03/2024 - 03:01 PM

Below is an opinion column by Wil Ervin:

Wil Ervin writes that a rose-colored distortion of public school performance is a disservice to taxpayers, our communities, and, most importantly, our students.

Community colleges, universities play significant role in improved workforce participation in Mississippi

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Thu, 10/03/2024 - 12:41 PM

Matching education and/or skill training to jobs in the private sector requires constant reevaluation.

If gains are to be seen, community colleges and universities in Mississippi will play an integral role in increasing the state’s workforce participation rate. That is the word from educators and lawmakers alike.

Members of the Mississippi Senate Labor Force Participation Study Group were recently brought up to speed on how the state’s public post-secondary institutions are working to that end.

Mississippi Dept. of Education promotes expanded CTE programs to aid in workforce participation

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Wed, 10/02/2024 - 03:21 PM

MDE is developing a comprehensive workforce development program for K-12 students but there are hurdles.

As Mississippi works to address a low workforce participation rate, there is a need to expand the number of Career and Technical Education (CTE) centers in the state while ensuring that the courses offered align with each region’s employment needs.

Southern Pine visits SCTC

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Wed, 10/02/2024 - 08:53 AM

John Shoemaker, an energy services technician with Southern Pine Electric and PowerAssociation, gave a presentation to students enrolled in Agriculture and Natural Resources, Metal Fabrication, Engineering, Construction, & HAVAC programs at Simpson County Technical Center.
Students were educated about the importance of safety around energized lines and other electrical appliances or circuits. Students saw a simulation of how electricity is made and conducted.

With Katina Rankin’s books are, from left, Dinah Wilson, Kendall Wilson, Alice Green, Rankin and Tonya King at the Magee Library.

Katina’s Klassroom donates books to Magee Library

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Wed, 10/02/2024 - 08:52 AM

Libraries and their employees teach people how to find and use information effectively. They also help people develop critical thinking, how to research, and much more.
“The Library is the hub of a town, a place where you can find information to go about your day-to-day life. Libraries do little things to make a patron’s whole day go better,” said Magee Library Branch Manager Frances Meadows.
Libraries are one place where written treasures remain available to all, regardless of race, background, or socioeconomic status.

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