Local News
Fight continues to keep kids in school
Mississippi is in the middle of a huge drop-out prevention effort.
Not only is an awareness campaign, dubbed "On the Bus" well under way, but Mississippi Superintendent of Schools Hank Bounds has been bringing together school districts, students, teachers, parents, and the community at large to address the troubling drop-out problem in the state.
The Meridian and Lauderdale County school districts are both eager to join the fight. Both districts have taken part in drop-out prevention meetings on the state and local levels, and superintendents from both districts have recently sent drafts of their drop-out prevention plans to the state superintendent's office.
Meridian Superintendent Sylvia Autry said plans were not yet finalized, but were sent to Bound's office so state officials could make sure they were "on the right track."
The plan submitted by the Meridian School District included an intervention strategy that is designed to give struggling learners an opportunity to seek academic help before, during, and after school, and a longer school day, which she said will provide teachers with more valuable instructional time.
Autry also wants to try to get parents more involved, and said the district has set up a parent resource center, aimed especially at parents of young children, at Frank Barry Courts.
In August, Meridian High School will begin using a Small Learning Community (SLC) curriculum, in which students will choose between several educational concentrations, such as the arts or vocational studies. Autry said that other school districts who use SLCs have a minimal drop-out rate.
Lauderdale County Superintendent Randy Hodges said his district's plan was mailed Monday, but that he was most excited about a meeting with school officials, parents, social workers, teachers, and members of the business community, which was held Tuesday.
"What we felt like was good about that meeting is we broke into sub-groups and had a work session," he said. "We're taking it very serious and we want to make sure the plan that we submit to the state department is a realistic one."
Hodges said the sub-groups were: arts integration; health, wellness, and social needs; vocational; education committee; and community and faith-based.
He provided some examples of ideas generated by the sub-groups, saying that the community and faith-based group suggested having church officials form mentoring services within their churches, and that the educational committee touted early intervention and increased parent involvement.
"Our charge from the State Department," Autry said, "is to develop a community-wide plan." The idea that entire communities need to work together to lower drop-out rates is an integral part of the state department's drop-out prevention effort.
Hodges said the county has a special problem to address in the fight to keep kids in school — three of the four county high schools have graduation rates that exceed 90 percent, but Northeast Lauderdale High School has a graduation rate of only 78 percent. Hodges said school officials have not yet determined why Northeast's graduation rate is so much lower than those of other county schools, but that they are currently trying to identify students that dropped out of Northeast in the past in an attempt to learn why students there tend more to drop out.
Both superintendents said they do not feel their districts will suffer in the near future from the recently announced policy of the United States Department of Education that all states will soon be required to use a standardized formula to report drop-out rates.
"Mississippi is a little ahead of the game," said Autry, "because last year we adopted a totally new way to calculate drop-out rates."
She said the state calculates its rates by counting the number of students to enter ninth grade against the number to graduate twelfth grade four years later.
Additionally, she said, the new federal formula for calculating graduation rates won't be tied into accreditation until schools have had time to adjust to any changes. However, Autry said, it will eventually be part of what determines federal funding to schools.
Graduation rates in Meridian and Lauderdale County
Graduation rates for the Meridian and Lauderdale County School Districts are formulated by putting the number of children who enter ninth grade against the number who graduate high school four years later.
Lauderdale County 2005-2006 school year rates:
Clarkdale Attendance Center: 92%
Northeast Lauderdale High School: 78%
Southeast Lauderdale High School: 94%
West Lauderdale High School: 97%
Meridian 2006-2007 school year rates:
Meridian High School: 87.1%
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Flying Milestone
T-45 Goshawks from Naval Air Station Meridian were recently part of a flyover of the USS George H.W. Bush in celebration of the jet trainers 1 million flight hours mark.
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County faces fines from MDEQ
At the same time as they are investigated by the state auditor's office, Lauderdale County is facing fines from another state agency — the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality.
MDEQ is fining the county $12,000 for failure to use sediment control at a county road project, but Road Manager Neal Carson said the sediment controls were there.
According to MDEQ spokesman Robbie Wilbur, MDEQ found that a road project in Toomsuba did not have the proper sediment controls to prevent run-off into Roasted Hog Creek. -
Convicted sex offender arrested
Nothing freezes the blood of a mother more than hearing the cries for help from one of her children.
Monday night, a mother and her 14-year old son allegedly found themselves in a battle against a man who earlier this year pleaded guilty to a sexual crime. Fortunately, the two were able to fight off the man, identified now by authorities of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department as Christopher Todd Shelton. Shelton, 41, of Toomsuba, is now being held in the Lauderdale County Adult Detention Facility on charges of attempted kidnapping, failure to register as a sex offender non-compliance, and probation violation. -
No time like now
If State Treasurer Tate Reeves was concerned whether or not the fifth grade students at Poplar Springs Elementary School were listening to him, then he was convinced they were judging by the questions the youngsters were peppering him with after he spoke Wednesday morning.
"Boy these are very good questions," said Reeves as he took a minute to collect himself from the barrage. "You people are really testing me but I like that. It shows you are interested in this issue." -
Downtown organizations adopt a common name
Something as simple as a name can cause a lot of confusion. Three different downtown organizations in Meridian have learned that the hard way, and they've decided to do something about it.
What used to be three sister downtown advocacy groups — related, but separate — are now one. What were Meridian Main Street, the Alliance for Downtown Meridian, and the Meridian Downtown Association will now all operate under the Meridian Main Street name. -
MPD and LCSD get grants
Each year the Meridian Police Department and the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Department receive a joint grant from the Department of Justice (DOJ) to help pay for upgrading equipment used to fight crime.
Twenty grants worth more than $630,000 have been approved to help city and county law enforcement agencies in Mississippi upgrade law enforcement equipment, according to U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.). The grants to Mississippi police and sheriffs’ departments represent formula grant funding provided through the DOJ Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program. -
Rollover sends one to hospital
Meridian Police Department units responded Tuesday afternoon to a two-vehicle collision in downtown Meridian that sent one person to a local hospital with injuries.
According to officials, the accident occurred at about 3:30 p.m. at the intersection of 12th Street and 18th Avenue next to Rush Foundation Hospital. A black two-door sedan was flipped onto its roof as a result of the impact. -
Aniel back at work 12 days after surgery
At first glance, Pete Aniel doesn't look like someone who recently underwent heart surgery.
"I guess you were expecting me to look all weak, and walking around toting an oxygen tank," said Aniel, smiling broadly and – just 12 days after surgery – is neatly dressed in his work uniform.
"Can you believe this?" he says, still amazed himself at the possibility. "I was riding a bicycle in my neighborhood with my wife and grandson just this past Sunday. I tell everyone if you've got to have heart surgery and you're a candidate for this type of procedure, go for it!" -
Stateley Visit
State Auditor Stacey Pickering spoke to the Kiwanis Club of Meridian on Wednesday, Aug. 25.
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State superintendent tours local schools
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Tom Burnham took a day away from his office in Jackson Tuesday to visit several local school districts.
"We don't want to get bogged down in the office in Jackson; when you do, you sometimes will see a lot of frustration," said Burnham, who visited Meridian High School, Clarkdale Attendance Center and Enterprise High School. - More Local News Headlines
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Flying Milestone
