News at Career Technical Center

A publication for friends, family, community, stakeholders and supporters of Kemper County School DistrictVolume 02 | Spring 2018

(L to R) Tydaisha Little, Nikia Davis, and Asianeka Little

Kemper County School DistrictP. O. Box 219159 Main AvenueDe Kalb, MS 39328Phone: (601) 743-2657Fax: (601) 743-9297www.kemper.k12.ms.us

CELEBRATE SUCCESS

With the start of the New Year comes hope and excitement. Thanks to the hard work of our students, teachers, staff, administrators, and parents, we had a successful beginning in the first half of the school year whereby we were able to celebrate the success of our district moving in the right direction based on last year’s state assessment results.

As we seek to provide the best educational opportunities for our children, we must all work together towards our vision: through unity and excellence, the Kemper County School District will be a high performing school district by providing a quality education that builds student success. Over the next couple of weeks leading up to the MAAP state assessments, we will continue with rigorous instructions in the classroom. Also, we will monitor

Alkedra Gordon pictured aboved receives her certificate during the 2017 Celebrate Success Awards Night.

Board MembersRontal Jenkins - District 1James Creer - District 2Lee Steele - District 3Carolyn Palmer - District 4Tyrone Steele - District 5

the progress of all students and make necessary adjustments through interventions and extension activities to help improve their learning.

It truly takes a village to raise a child. At KCSD, we encourage participation and involvement from all of our stakeholders including parents, community partners and local organizations. We take pride in our school district because our students deserve the best we have to offer. We are looking forward to a successful second half of the school year!

Sincerely,

Ms. Jackie Pollock, Superintendent

A message from the

Superintendent: MAKING PROGRESS... MORE TO DO

Jackie Pollock

The Kemper County School District does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national origin, sex, or disability in the provision of educational program and activities or employment opportunities and benefits. The vocational department encourages males and females to enroll in non-traditional classes and to train for non-traditional jobs.

This month our students participated in the Reality/Career Recruitment Fair at Kemper County High School. Students in grades 7th and 8th visited booths to speak with Sandra Taylor-Kelley, Early Childhood Instructor and Mr. Steven Jackson, Law & Public Safety Instructor, as well as with Mr. Brock Rogers, Student Services Coordinator and Sandra Clark, Counselor about the programs and opportunities available at CTE.

Connie Johnson, CTE Director

Last November, Kemper County School District recognized students throughout the district who scored proficient or advanced on the 2017 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) test results. Participating schools were East Kemper Elementary, West Kemper Elementary, Kemper County High School and Career Technical Education Center. During the ‘Celebrate Success Awards Night,’ nearly 300 students (299 exact), grades 3-12 were recognized for their academic achievements collecting over 400 (421 exact) awards.

Several teachers (10 exact) were also honored for their roles in preparing their students to achieve the highest test data averages in their subject areas. Additionally, these students and teachers were entitled to $12,000 in grant funds by Kemper County Improvement Organization who incentivized the MAAP test results. Special recognition was given to Kemper County High School who showed significant points growth on the MAAP test results.

The event was held at Kemper County High School gymnasium, which was standing room only as parents, city officials, school administrators, and community leaders came out to show their support. Dr. Monica Scott, Director of Admissions at Xavier University of Louisiana was the keynote speaker and delivered a powerful message of encouragement for students to follow their dreams. During her address, Dr. Scott also spoke to parents about her personal journey. She indicated that she was just an average student with average grades in high school, but her success and perseverance came because of her parents’ involvement and continuous exposure to multiple career paths and academic programs.

Superintendent of Education, Jackie Pollock, stated that the inaugural Celebrate Success Awards Night served multiple purposes: 1) to recognize the academic success of students who scored proficient and advanced on Mississippi State Assessment tests; and 2) to motivate all students and teachers to strive to reach the goals of the district.

Superintendent Pollock believes that it is important to highlight the success of Kemper County School District and she is looking forward to next year’s celebration to be even larger.

Reading is an important part of the curriculum at West Kemper Elementary (WKE). Two major components of our strategy for success are the Accelerated Reader Program and the Annual Reading Fair. Every WKE student who had a reading class participated in the Accelerated Reading Program and the overall participation for our Reading Fair was at an all time high.

“I am so excited that our participation rate moved from 75 entries last year to 220 entries and another 75 boards in the classroom,” said Jammy Davis, WKE Principal. “That is more 220 entries than last year. Our Reading Fair boards were done very well, which is so wonderful.”

Accelerated Reader (AR) is a computer-based reading and motivational program designed to complement existing classroom literacy programs for grades K-12. AR’s goal is to motivate students to read.

“At West Kemper Elementary, we added a library assistant to solely focus on Accelerated Reading,” said Davis. “Ms. Coleman keeps up with how many books each student reads and if the student is meeting their goal of 85% correct answers. She also helps students locate books that are on their level that they will enjoy reading.”

“Based on WKE’s data from the 2016-2017 MAAP assessments, our weakest area was ELA. Therefore, all hands are on deck to promote reading comprehension and fluency,” said Davis. ““

West Kemper Elementary’s theme this year is “Be the Change!” One Team, One Dream, You Be the Change!

It is a great feeling to know our students are showing the change!the required elements to even enter into the Fair, but what the difference is, is the creativity that the students and parents show,” explained Davis. “WKE’s

East Kemper students along with others across the state traveled to the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science at Mississippi University for Women in Columbus, MS for the Superstars Math Competition.

MSMS Math Superstars is a program designed to get elementary students excited about mathematics. Several of our 2nd-5th graders spent the day engaging in mathematical activities and competitions. All of our students were outstanding. We are super proud of them all!

We would like to give a special shoutout to our four 4th graders who won overall for their grade level! The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science (MSMS) hosted the third annual Math Superstars Competition on October 11. Math Superstars is one of MSMS’s most important outreach activities and was created specifically for elementary aged students.

Roughly 120 students, representing five districts across the state of Mississippi, traveled to Columbus to participate in this year’s competition. This year’s event

Record Participation at West Kemper’s

Reading FairCongratulations to East Kemper’s

Math SuperstarsKemper County High School

Dedicated to Success

(L to R): Caleb Hampton, DamionOdom, Amonie Smith, Eden White, Titeyanna Jones, Kaydence Arnold, Kamron Robertson, Ka’Neisha Johnson, Aidon Adams, and Jazzlyn Griffin

Volume 01 | Fall 2017

Back Row (L to R): Olivia Hill, Ms. Carolyn Jenkins (Parent Liaison), DeAsia Bester, Jakera Ivory, Keyon Marshall, and Mrs. Delisa Blanks (Academic Coach)Middle Row (L to R): Jocelyn Pulphus, Chase Brown, Genesis Hopson, Hailey Boykin, Jocelyn Houston, and Janiece SmithFront Row (L to R): Kennedy Wren, Saniyah Pulphus, J’Kyla Rush, and Tyleria Pulphus

included team building activities, individual problem sets, math concept stations, and Breakout Boxes. Students were encouraged to interact with their peers from other districts during collaborative team based activities.

“According to the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) results for the 2016-2017 school year, Math was our area of weakness, so to see our students attend the Math Competition at the Mississippi University for Women (MUW) in Columbus, MS and return with a trophy made our hearts smile.

We received a call with the great news before the students returned to campus, so I had the classmates of the participants to line up outside along the sidewalk. We borrowed blue and gold pom poms from Mrs. Ward, our cafeteria manager (she had them on deck as centerpieces on each table because it was National

Cafeteria Week). We cheered as loud as we could as the participants exited the school bus. ‘WAY TO GO EAST KEMPER, WAY TO GO,’ we chanted repeatedly.

The participants were so excited and enthused, but not as excited as their Math teachers! This was the boost we needed to remind us that even in the midst of what the test scores read, we know that our students are capable to compete and to come out victorious.

With this in mind, we have set goals for the school, for each tested area, for each teacher, and for every student. We have great expectations for the outcomes of the 2018 MAAP assessment. As always, we appreciate all of our stakeholders (parents and family members, community members, elected officials, our school faculty and staff, superintendent, central office staff, school board members, and external partners, etc.) for all you do to help East Kemper Elementary School move from good to great!”

Tyreasia Love, Principal

4th Grade 1st Place Winners (L to R): Saniyah Pulphus, DeAsia Bester, Jakera Ivory, and Genesis Hopson

Jada Serton featured for her presentation “Black Like Me”during Kemper County High School’s Reading Fair.

PARTNERSHIP

A strong partnership between Kemper County High School and East Mississippi Community College has been formed whereby our students have the opportunity to take college classes on our campus. A Health Sciences pathway has been created. Last semester we offered General Biology and Intermediate College

Algebra. This semester we are offering College Algebra and Anatomy & Physiology. This means KCHS students have the opportunity to finish this school year with fourteen college credits.

LEADERSHIP MATTERS

Zabia Burton, a current senior, was accepted into the Trent Lott Leadership Institute for Rising Seniors during the 2016-2017 school year. She spent June 2017 at the University of Mississippi where she earned six college credits, participated with students from all over the state as they learned about leadership, and ended her tenure in the Institute with a week-long stay in Washington, D.C. Jordan Green, another current senior, participated in a summer program at the University of Mississippi and earned several college credits. In November 2017, Keazure Wilkins and Zabia Burton attended an Emerging Leaders Institute at the University of Mississippi. Jarius Love was recognized in December 2017 by the University of Mississippi Medical Center as a part of Beyond Horizons – A Health Equity and Leadership Initiative.

CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT

Last year’s improvement was outstanding. Kemper County High School improved from the previous year’s score by 104 points thereby moving the school from an “F” to a “D” rating and assisting the District in moving from a status of “failing”. We are proud of the tremendous hard work and efforts made by our teachers, students and parents.

An Innovative Saturday School has been planned for selected eighth, ninth, and tenth grade students. These students will receive instructions in ACT math, ACT reading, problem-based science, coding, and photography. This is scheduled to begin mid-February and continue through April. As part of our nine week ACT Prep initiative, students will take practice tests, receive test-taking strategies, improve critical thinking skills, and increase their Science, Math, English, and Reading skills. Many students have experienced increased sub scores as well as increased composite scores.

Additionally, seventh and eighth grade students are scheduled to receive chrome books. A process will be established in order to allow each student to have access to his/her individual computer.

Kathi Wilson, Principal

KCHS Seniors preparing to visit East Mississippi Community College

Students at KCHS working together during a group study session