For the first time, East Marion High School is the highest performing school in the Marion County School District.
The Mississippi Department of Education unofficially released state test scores and school grades Tuesday with the district receiving a "B" rating. The official scores will be released on Sept. 29.
This is the highest Marion County has ever scored as a district with 619 points.
"This puts us on a good footing as we make our way to becoming an A district. We expect all schools to be A or B schools with two schools being A schools for sure. The district will be an A in the next few years," Superintendent Michael Day said. "This is why (East Marion Principal Cindy Newsome) got administrator of the year. She has transformed into the epitome of a true servant leader. Her joy comes from seeing others celebrate their successes."
Newsome said the central office of Day and his staff has really helped the teachers and students improve by keeping them encouraged, supported and motivated.
"I am really excited for my students and our staff, as well as our East Marion community, because we've faced some challenges," she said. It's a feeling I can't even describe. It was a matter of getting my students to realize how important things are. We got them to realize we have high expectations for them. We have had to build their confidence. They need to know they can do what everyone else can do. My staff put in a lot of time and extra hours. We had to refocus and regroup and realize we were facing a challenge."
Newsome implemented a new initiative called Reading Initiative for Student Excellence, which has gotten students to read more, and she said they are starting to realize it's cool to be smart.
West Marion Primary School (358 points), West Marion Elementary School (358 points) and East Marion Elementary (334 points) all received a "C" rating, while both East Marion High School (654 points) and West Marion High School (616 points) both received "B" ratings.
"We are excited about our current school rating. Our teachers and staff worked really hard and should be commended for a job well done. However, we realize that with a new school year, a new set of challenges are presented," West Marion Principal Ryan Stringer said. " We are happy but not satisfied, and we realize there is a lot of work to do to improve our school."
Among non-traditional schools, which includes high schools with grades seven through 12, East Marion ranked No. 37 and West Marion ranked No. 45. That is the second highest ranking West Marion has ever had.
"Last year, all of our schools worked hard to overcome the pandemic. By no means are we satisfied, but by both of our high schools being Bs, we are proud," Day said. "The school district has worked really hard to overcome and first to recognize the losses we had. The kids doubled down. The teachers did more interventions, more small groups, more one-on-one. We brought in a series of consultants paid for by grants to work with students and teachers to build their capacities. We focused on realigning curriculum to meet the needs.
We also placed a huge focus on the social and emotional needs of students. We hired counselors who worked hard to refocus students and to help them get back to as normal a school setting as possible. When you put kids first and put serving others first, that's when you make progress."
The school district has had its struggles this year as new programs and plans have been tried and failed as others were implemented and succeeded.
"The goal is to bring equity to the district. This is not about equity for black versus white or East versus West. It's about all our children being eligible for scholarships and job opportunities," Day said.
