The Simpson County School Board heard a thorough review of the student assessment and accountability report when they met on Oct. 19 at Mendenhall Elementary School.
Assistant Superintendent Dr. Deidre Randall gave the report after the board had toured the new fifth grade building on the campus.
Randall explained that the percentage of students rated proficient and advanced are the main contributing factors to the letter grades received by the schools on the accountability report.
Each school rating in the district was analyzed; three school years of data was presented for comparison— 2020-2021, 2021-2022, and 2022-2023.
The 2020-2021 school year produced the worst results and created a difficulty in establishing a true baseline for comparison. The low scores from that year were attributed to school being disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and the state test scores being waived. Randall said that the test scores not being counted may have led to students not giving their best efforts in 2020-2021. This also set the stage for exaggerated growth when actual state testing resumed.
Comparing 2020-2021 to the 2021-2022 school year, growth was shown in the percentage of proficient and advanced students for the district across all subjects except 5th grade science and 7th grade ELA (English/ Language Arts)
Simpson Central generally paced the middle schools and junior high schools in the county for the highest percentage of proficient and advanced students across all tested subjects for grades 5-8 during the 2022-2023 school year.
Board member Lillie Hardy asked why some schools were doing better than others and what the district was doing to repeat the success in other places. Dr. Randall explained that the staff is looking closely at teachers and programs that perform outside the norm and are working to replicate the process.
Hardy questioned this and said that tactic usually means moving someone who has been successful to a different position. She suggested replicating the success instead of moving the successful teachers from the environment where they have already made a positive impact.
Hardy also asked if the close proximity of Simpson Central being a K-8 facility had any impact on the school’s success in junior high. Dr. Randall said it played a factor in the students being in familiar surroundings and making the transition from elementary to middle school easier. Randall stressed that fifth and ninth grade are crucial years in students’ development as they represent the transitional years to middle and high school.
Magee Elementary School’s highest performing subject was ELA across grades 3-5. Mendenhall Elementary’s percentages were above the state average in math for the third and fourth grade. The 2022-2023 school year was the first year the fifth grade was taught at Mendenhall Elementary, and the new building was not complete.
The accountability results for Magee Elementary was 373 out of a total 700 points, placing them at the top of the C scale. Magee Elementary was four points from receiving a B rating. The school showed the most growth in math. Third grade math will be an area of emphasis for the school moving forward and a plan of action has been established to improve results.
Results for Mendenhall Elementary School were 350 out of 700 for a C rating. Mendenhall Elementary showed the most growth in ELA. The area of focus for the school moving forward will be 3rd grade ELA and 5th grade math and science. This was the first year the fifth grade was included in the school’s accountability score.
Simpson Central received a C, scoring 368 out of 700. The largest area of growth for Simpson Central was math. The area of focus moving forward will be improvements to middle school math, science, and ELA. The sixth, seventh, and eight grade had lower overall scores compared to the elementary grade students.
Magee Middle School scored 287 out of 700 for a D rating, and their largest area of growth was in math. Moving forward, a plan has been established to target the growth of the lowest performing students and affect growth overall. The district plans to accomplish this by working with teachers and support staff to identify specific standards and skills students will need individually to achieve their determined growth point. The administration will identify the best practice to help close these learning gaps.
Magee High School scored 671 out of 1000 for a B rating. Magee High showed unprecedented growth in math with nearly 220 points in growth. Dr. Randall attributed this to the outstanding job done by math teacher Kristy Thurman. Thurman now serves the district as a math instructional coach.
Dr. Randall said, “Kristy Thurman did an unbelievable job. Magee math scores grew 200 points.”
Randall explained that the leadership came from the classroom and the growth in math alone is why Magee High School received a B.
Board President Danny Cowart emphasized that the school would not see a drop off in performance in response to comments he heard form the “public.”
Mendenhall High School scored 700 out of 1000 points for a B. Mendenhall also showed outstanding growth in math. Dr. Randall explained that 2024 will reflect accurate growth after the test scores of 2020, on which students probably underperformed, led to exaggerated growth in the next year’s testing.
The district was rated a C with a score of 583 and was 16 points from reaching a B. Cowart questioned the high graduation rate compared to the low proficiency rating. Dr. Randall explained that the district is graduating students who are passing but not necessarily proficient. Randall explained that level 3 is passing.
Cowart asked Dr. Randall on a scale of 1-10 how much consolidation would help improve proficiency. Dr. Randall said 10 because it would help with providing the resources needed for teachers to help students become proficient.
The board discussed preschool/kindergarten programs and the importance of having a program associated with the district. The discussion focused on how private pre-k programs do a great job, but all do not teach up to the state standards in preparation for school.
Superintendent Dr. Paul Lawrence said, “We are starting behind in kindergarten, and we work to get students to proficient, and then the difficulty of the material increases, and we are always playing catch up.”
Dr. Randall said, “We spend time teaching our kindergarten students how to sit in a chair and hold a pencil.”
The board discussed the need for a viable preschool program in the district and the lack of funding to provide one.
During board comments Cowart addressed the parents in the room and said that the district is working to make improvements and that the new (consolidated) school would be built. He also said that the public has been misinformed and that it is Mississippi law to have an appointed superintendent.
Stan Bulger commented that Mendenhall Jr. High is atrocious, and is not somewhere parents should want to send their kids. Bulger has been consistent in emphasizing the need to remove students from Mendenhall Jr. High and provide an updated facility. He said it is not a facility that the district should throw millions of dollars at, and that there are no plots of land available to put a junior high school on.
Stace Herring said, “I sent my kids there and it’s not somewhere you don’t want to send your kids.”
Herring said her children went to Mendenhall Jr. High and went on to become educators. She used an example of a house needing a new roof. She said that you cannot wait until you buy a new house to fix the roof. Herring said Mendenhall Jr. High needs to be functional for the students that are there.
Lillie Hardy continues to advocate for the arts, and the crowd was treated to music from music teacher Felisa McCullum as her statement on the arts. Hardy said the program started in Simpson County from a grant she wrote in the 70’s. She wants students to have an opportunity to hear, feel, and grow in the arts.
Hardy said, “Just like we enjoy sports, we need to enjoy the music.”
The consent agenda, human resources report, and finance reports were accepted as presented. The board entered executive session before adjourning the meeting.
