Mississippi Public Scools (Gulfport, Biloxi, Hattiesburg: middle-class, employment, neighborhoods)

[dusesean1986]

Sorry folks, I was wondering why Mississippi Public Schools are so low on a statewide national average?! Can you clear this up for me! Thanx!

[Tama]

National average for what? Funding, achievement, class size, specific type of ranking, some overall ranking? What would be the criteria? This might get you some good answers.

[JMT]

Originally Posted by Tama

National average for what? Funding, achievement, class size, specific type of ranking, some overall ranking? What would be the criteria? This might get you some good answers.

How about: all of the above?

I used to live in Pontotoc and was amazed, no, aghast, at the public schools. And that was before I ventured over to Clarksdale and saw the nightmare that is the Mississippi Delta.

There are pockets of good school systems in Mississippi: Oxford, Tupelo, Clinton, probably Hattiesburg. Otherwise, there's a reason most people with any disposable income send their kids to private schools. I'd never seen so many private schools in my life until I lived in Mississippi. Even little towns have private schools.

There are many things to love about Mississippi, but the public schools isn't one of them.

[Tama]

Well- I can't answer specifics which I would hope someone will such as how are the class sizes statewide-very important in my book-along with the experience and training level of the teacher. In my opinion, a creative, talented teacher coupled with a motivated student and basic research tools, a supply of paper and pencils and books and a computer can do wonders. However, a poorly coping teacher, or an unprepared, unmotivated student or no access to learning tools or support programs can cause a breakdown in the the system needed for school achievement. Mississippi has a lot of these clitches in the system. Remember schools nationwide are coping with the drug culture, teen pregnancy, violence, and middle-class and affluent famililies fleeing from the more distressed areas into enclaves of superior performance. Couple that in Mississippi with areas with a large rural, uneducated populace with a high teen birth rate, poverty-the number of students eligible for free lunch is quite high-teacher pay that sends the best and brightest out-of-state and there you have it. Pockets of excellence and large areas of low achievement are the result. There are excellent public schools in Mississippi. My son went to one and he had a fantastic education. Both the schools and the public have to bring something to the table for children to succeed and in large parts of Mississippi neither is doing its job, and in those places where money has come in and help has been found, the students aren't bringing anything to the table. It is a system--in my opinion--and it can't be a well-oiled machine if any one of its parts is out of synch. It is no secret that economic and eductional levels of a community determine greatly how well the schools achieve. Some people think the schools come first and the good incomes, quality neighborhoods, and security will follow. I happen to think it is the other way around and that this is part of Mississippi's challenge, to get all parts of the system working and to then create a cycle of moving up from poverty and ignorance that culminates in the ultimate goal--a well-educated, well-paid, citizenry with public and private pride, civic-minedness and outreach to each other.

[msspa]

We are supposed to have the best in the state but I'm not sure.

[Meriwether]

Simple. Mississippians, including our current governor, abandoned public schools en masse with the coming of integration. The wealthy immediately created private schools and have lobbied to avoid properly funding and running public schools. If you go to the parts of the state where there is a low black population you will find well-run but underfunded public schools. Money talks and the wealthy whites did not want to pay private school tuition and be taxed to fund public schools.

[Tama]

I don't disagree about the abandonment of public schools. However, Mississippi Adequate Education Program-MAEP-has been put in place and Clarksdale Municipal District will receive almost 17 million for 2008, as an example. At-risk kids do need more resources, and hopefully they will be getting them. However, it will come to naught if parents and families don't put education first along with focusing on delayed parenthood for young women and motivate their children to gain the skills needed in today's modern world for adequate employment and income. Too many are not taking advantage of the opprtunities afforded them and that has to stop. I would love to see leadership schools such as Oprah established in South Africa throughout Mississippi that will provide the leadership needed for tomorrow's generations.
Some research suggests that small schools provide better for the needs of particularly disadvantaged children while larger districts are more cost-effective. If we can find a way to have both-cost-effectiveness and small schools-- that would be helpful as well, in my opinion.

[Muhnay]

How are the Schools in the Biloxi/Gulfport area?

[mart1231]

We are looking to relocate from a small town in Indiana to Tupelo area, we are looking for a small, clean town with good schools. Any suggestions?

[Angela986]

Originally Posted by JMT

How about: all of the above?

I used to live in Pontotoc and was amazed, no, aghast, at the public schools. And that was before I ventured over to Clarksdale and saw the nightmare that is the Mississippi Delta.

There are pockets of good school systems in Mississippi: Oxford, Tupelo, Clinton, probably Hattiesburg. Otherwise, there's a reason most people with any disposable income send their kids to private schools. I'd never seen so many private schools in my life until I lived in Mississippi. Even little towns have private schools.

There are many things to love about Mississippi, but the public schools isn't one of them.

I know what you mean. Mississippi is the only state that doesn't have more than one charter school. I think the state legislature should really look into providing more charter schools across the state, so children in Mississippi can have the same opportunities as their counterparts in other states, which might, in turn, encourage the public schools to do better.