Fifty-nine Mississippi school districts were applauded by the Mississippi School Boards Association (MSBA) on November 11, setting a record number of awards in three categories for outstanding student achievement, based on student performance on last spring's testing in the Mississippi accountability program. The districts were recognized at a special awards luncheon in the 2014 MSBA Lighthouse School Leader Awards Program. MSBA honored 51 districts in the 2013 awards program. In addition to the district presentation, individual board members and superintendents of the districts received a special MSBA Lighthouse School Leader lapel pin. Approximately 350 school board members and superintendents across the state attended the MSBA Lighthouse School Leaders Awards Luncheon in Jackson.
Union County School District was one of 36 Districts who received the Lantern award for being a “B” district under the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards.
“The mark of student success continues to rise, and Mississippi school districts have a proven track record of providing leadership to achieve, and even exceed, the standards,” said MSBA Executive Director Michael W. Waldrop. “The MSBA Lighthouse School Leader Awards Program is our way of cheering school leaders on as they persist on the path of increasingly higher student achievement for all students.”
The MSBA Lighthouse School Leader Awards Program was established by the Mississippi School Boards Association at the beginning of the 2003-04 school year, in recognition of the unsung efforts of school districts to meet more rigorous state and federal accountability standards. The following criteria were used in determining the 2014 awards categories:
BEACON
Letter Grade of “A” under the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards.
Number of Honorees – 19
LANTERN
Letter Grade of “B” under the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards, with no schools below “C”
Number of Honorees - 36
TORCH
Letter Grade of “C” under the Mississippi Department of Education’s Accountability Standards, plus
90 percent or more district students participate in the federal free/reduced lunch program
no school graded below “C” and,
at least one school is graded “B” or above.
Number of Honorees - 4
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phone: 662-534-1960 | Fax: 662-534-1961