CANTON – Having grown tired of negative media reports about the dire conditions of the Canton Public School District (CPSD), Mayor William Truly convened a meeting with school administrators, faith and community-based groups and business leaders Friday, Dec. 3 at City Hall.
“It is time for all of us to pledge to help our students,” Truly said. “I’m of the mindset that our schools are not failing our students but rather our community.”
Leaders from across Canton showed up eager to get involved to help the district achieve “star” school status. Currently, most of the schools within the CPSD rank below the state average, and one is listed as a failure.
The breakdown:
• Canton Elementary School: Academic Watch
• Nichols Middle School: At risk of Failing
• Canton School of the Arts: At risk of failing
• Canton High School: Fail
• McNeal Elementary School: no rating (State rankings/testing begin at the third-grade. McNeal is K-2.)
“I know that when you look at state rankings things appear to be bad, but what is not being shared is all of the progress that the district has made,” said Beverly Luckett, public relations director for CPSD. “We’ve made significant improvements in the areas of creating an atmosphere that’s conducive to learning, attendance is up and on a federal level our Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) numbers are good.”
Luckett points out that there is always a conflict with what the state presents and what is happening on a federal level. “The conflict is on a local level. This is where we are and this is what is presented, but I maintain we are improving,” Luckett said. “Requiring the students to wear school uniforms has made a tremendous difference.”
The district’s website highlights a theme of “Working Together Works,” and that is exactly what Truly has in mind. “I believe by building this coalition of people in the community who are already familiar faces, parents will feel comfortable, and our hope is to improve parental involvement as well,” Truly said. “Our goal is to increase student achievement, encourage parent and community engagement, understand and strengthen the educational needs of our community and develop a strong workforce.”
More than 25 partners sat through mentoring and tutoring workshops conducted by local professionals including Cassandra Williams, executive director of Curriculum and Instruction for the CPSD. “We are grateful that community partners are willing to come together to help us improve our performance levels,” said Williams. “This is a win win situation for the district, the city and more importantly for our students.
Williams conducted a session on tutoring and distributed educational packets that included sample lessons. “Our goal and hope is to make sure these tutoring sessions are reinforcing what we are doing in the classroom,” Williams said. “Sometimes we have to move so fast, and these tutors will serve as a backup to make sure our students are retaining information.”
Editors Note:
The above story is part one of a series of stories we are doing to bring awareness to the efforts being made to improve the Canton Public School District. The Mississippi Link believes that an educated citizenry makes for a strong workforce and community.
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