The Lauderdale County School District is one of the top 20 school districts in the state, once again earning an A-rating, based on the state’s 2023 accountability system report that was released Thursday.

Northeast High and Southeast Middle schools achieved A-ratings for the first time ever under the current accountability system. Southeast High maintained its B, missing out on an A by six points.

“We are very excited. It’s truly a testament of the students and the staff and the community that we have,” said Joshua Herrington, principal of Northeast Lauderdale High School. “It has been a team effort from across the board, and, honestly, the teachers, the students, the staff, the community, they deserve it. They’ve been an ‘A’ school for years and now they are just showing it.”

The Mississippi Department of Education uses an A-F performance rating to annually assess schools and districts based on state test performance, individual student growth, participation rates and graduation rates. The results were officially certified Thursday when they were presented to the State Board of Education during its monthly meeting and became available for public review on the Mississippi Department of Education website.

In the 2023 report, Lauderdale County is again named a top district with nine schools graded an A: both Clarkdale campuses, Northeast Elementary and Northeast High, Southeast Elementary and Southeast Middle, and all three West Lauderdale school campuses. Southeast High School maintained a B, and Northeast Middle improved from a D to a C-rating.

“We are extremely proud of the Lauderdale County School District earning an “A” rated school district for the second consecutive year. Our results have reached all-time highs moving from 693 last year to an overall score of 726 this year,” Superintendent Dr. John-Mark Cain said in a prepared statement. “This ranks us as the 18th highest rated school district in the state of Mississippi.”

Two area school districts, Neshoba County and Enterprise, were among the top five districts in the state, according to the report.

The state’s current accountability system, which dates back to 2014, is based on an 1,000-point school model, Ken Hardy, the district’s director of federal programs, student data and assessment, told school board members during last week’s board meeting.

Last year was the first year since the current model was implemented that the Lauderdale County School District had achieved an A-rating.

“I want to say congratulations to our communities, our administrators, our parents, our students, our faculty and our staff for a job well done,” Cain told school board members last week of the pending official performance results. “We still have work to do, and we will always work to improve student opportunities and outcomes.”

Cain thanked school board members for their commitment to the school district, which he said helps move districts forward.

“It’s great to be a part of a great school district where people really want the best for our students,” he said.

Herrington said Northeast High’s teachers, staff and students have worked hard and planned hard to move from a B rating in the 2022 report to an A-rating in this year’s report. Administrators are planning a celebration for students on homecoming Friday, Oct. 6.

“The truth is,” Herrington said, “is everybody got on the bus and had smiles on their faces and worked to get us going in the right direction, and when you get everybody on the bus going the right way, then you can accomplish great things.”