PRC, Picayune and Poplarville school districts receive their accountability ratings.
Published 10:10 am Tuesday, October 11, 2022
The Poplarville School District earned an A-rating; Pearl River County School District earned a B-rating and Picayune School district earned a C-rating for its performance in the 2021-2022 school year. Each district received their grade from the Mississippi State Board of Education, released on Thursday, Sept. 29.
The Office of District and School Performance provide state, district, and school level accountability (performance) scores on a yearly basis. The rate is used to help stakeholders make decisions regarding areas of improvement within Mississippi’s education system.
According to Mississippi Department of Education, The Mississippi Statewide Accountability System assigns a performance rating of A, B, C, D, and F for each school and district based on established criteria regarding student achievement, individual student growth, graduation rate, and participation rate. It measures students in grades 3-8 and high school students.
For the Poplarville School District, that district’s accountability score increased by 21 points from 668 (A) in the 2019 Pre-COVID pandemic year, to 689 (A) in 2022 Post COVID pandemic year. Poplarville High School earned an 808 (A) rating, ranking eighth amongst all Mississippi high schools. The Middle School of Poplarville and Poplarville Upper Elementary earned a B-rating. Poplarville Lower Elementary earned an A-rating.
“The Poplarville School District’s goal is to be an A district while preparing students to be successful people by providing a challenging academic environment with structure and values that prepare students for success in the workplace. The A rating is a result of the strong partnership between the Poplarville staff and the families of the Poplarville community… Education starts in the home and we have great community support and a staff with a heart for students,” Poplarville Superintendent Jonathan Will said.
For the Pearl River County School District, their accountability score was a B-rating for the district. PRCHS ranked 32nd of all Mississippi schools with a 753 (B) score.
For the Picayune School District, their accountability score was a C-rating. Picayune earned a B rating the previous school year. Several schools in Picayune were still able to maintain or move up a letter grade. The school district and its staff will have an all hands on deck mentality to provide their students with the best opportunity for educational growth.
“Our school district did drop a letter grade, although South Side Upper and South Side Lower Elementary were able to maintain their B level and Roseland Park Elementary was able to move up to a B level,” said Picayune Superintendent Dean Shaw. “School has been disrupted for more than two years which affected the way students learned and were assessed. Our staff members have identified some areas of concern that we have been and will continue working to improve on. I am fully confident our staff members will continue to work hard in providing our student the best opportunity for student growth and achievements.”