Paula Merritt / The Meridian StarLynn Scott, a retired high school math teacher, writes instructions on a board for students involved in a math intervention at N.H. Pilate Middle School, in the Newton Municipal School District

NEWTON – For Lynn Scott, working with a small group of students creates openings that don’t always present themselves in a large classroom.

“Classroom management is not a big issue,” she said, noting that dominant personalities and behavior issues can tilt the balance of a class.

“When you deal with a student one-on-one, they’re not trying to impress other students,” she said. “They’re not feeding into the negativity of others. It’s a much better experience.”

Scott, a retired high school math teacher, is working as a math interventionist at N.H. Pilate Middle School, in the Newton Municipal School District, helping students work on their math lessons. She’s one of two interventionists in the district, with a third awaiting board approval. It’s a feature that Superintendent Nola Bryant, on the job since July 1, has added to the district’s repertoire as staff and students work to improve performance.

“I knew that things needed to change from where they were,” Bryant said, noting the need for improvement on — among other things — state tests and the ACT.

“Are we competing with the other (school districts)?” she asked. “Yes, we are. But here’s the thing: We’re competing for the academic achievement of our students, for academic success.”

The Newton Municipal School District had an enrollment of 937 last school year, according to the Mississippi Department of Education.

The academic interventionists mark just one of the new initiatives Bryant has worked to generate. She said the district is participating in the Jobs for Mississippi Graduates program and conducting an initiative called “Dress to Impress,” which lets students earn the ability to dress in clothes they choose on Friday — in lieu of the regular uniforms — by completing school work successfully and behaving well throughout the week.

Bryant’s path to the Newton Municipal School District has taken some creative academic turns. She brings a Ph.D. in education from Mississippi State University, along with a host of academic honors and projects. Among her professional positions, she’s served as assistant to the superintendent at the Louisville Municipal School District and elementary school principal in the Lowndes County School District.

Bryant’s dissertation explores the “impact of parents on students’ education,” she explained recently in her office, as she applies the concept of parental involvement to small communities. She said that as she worked she became particularly interested in the concept of a parent reading to — or reading with — a child.

“One of the things that really touched me that I adapted was teaching parents to become readers, or lovers of reading,” she said, noting the importance of a child seeing parents read. What’s even better than reading, she said, is when parents sit down and talk and read with their children.

“It’s important to me that parents don’t just tell a child to read,” she said. “It’s important for you to listen to your child read.”

That, she said, lets a child know that the whole activity of reading is important.

As Scott, the math interventionist, worked with students on math on Tuesday morning, some of the interaction Bryant values seemed to take place — even if it was rooted in numbers rather than words. The three students learning from Scott responded favorably.

“It’s easier,” said eighth-grader Kendrick Quijano, reflecting on the small group. “You focus more.”

Principal Sharon Hoye said the sessions are especially for eighth-grade boys, who sometimes tend to be quiet in class.

“They’re grateful she’s here,” Hoye said of Scott. “Boys in eighth grade may be afraid to ask that second or third question (in class).”

For Bryant, who emphasizes the power of working together, the small group seemed to be a microcosm of what she’s seeking to achieve not just in one classroom, but throughout the entire school district.