Last Monday night, the Natchez-Adams School District honored and recognized staff members in the district that set a new standard for taking the district to the next level of achievement.

The entire 2013-14 staffs of Susie B. West Elementary and Robert Lewis Magnet School, along with 14 teachers throughout the district, were recognized for the results of meeting performance goals.

Susie B. West Elementary was recognized for increasing two performance levels in one academic year.  West Elementary in one academic year proved that with the right leadership, a spirit of teamwork and high expectations our schools can perform well. One might question as to why we are celebrating a “C” school. We are not celebrating the “C.” We are celebrating the gains shown by a team, and when led by a great coach, the results indicate we are a district on the rise.

We celebrate Robert Lewis Magnet School’s entire staff because of the results that were produced in one year. The district was met with much noise about why we were spending resources in such a program. Going into the 2013-14 with high expectations and an attitude of “Failure is not an option,” Robert Lewis Magnet School not only proved but exceeded the expectations of many. Robert Lewis Magnet School earned a “B” in its first year of existence. During the formulation of the school, many thoughts were shared as to who should attend the school. A common response was, “We should only send students there that are honor roll students with no discipline problems.” The only directive I provided throughout the development of the magnet school was that any student who wants to attend Robert Lewis Magnet School can attend. Regardless of the students’ past academic performances and disciplinary histories, every student that applied was accepted.

The student population ranged from students who were on the honor roll every nine weeks with no disciplinary infractions to students who would have dropped out of school in the sixth grade, if it was legally permissible. With high expectations, passionate leadership, students and teachers’ commitments, Robert Lewis set a new standard for all staff and students of the district by raising the bar for all schools, students and staff in the district for this year and every subsequent year. Given the various performance levels of students enrolled last year at Robert Lewis Magnet School, every excuse was eliminated as to why all of our schools could not perform at high levels.

At the beginning of the 2013-14 school year, we set a goal of the District obtaining a QDI score of 166—a “successful” designation. Along with the entire staffs of Robert Lewis Magnet and Susie B. West Elementary Schools, we celebrated individual teachers who also met the performance goal set for the Natchez-Adams School District. These individuals not only met but, in many cases, far exceeded the goal.   Special recognition goes out to Melita Bassett, Creseda Crawford, Kenethia Doss, Sandra Ellis, Kim Godfrey, Chelsea Hall, Hayes Harris, Shemekia Isaac, Shamekia Kaho, Linda Logan, Katrina McNeal, Lauren Mullins, Linda Sherbia and Eric Smith.  They all claim results that met and exceeded the goal set by the district.

Many thanks to the staffs of Robert Lewis and West for their success.  They are: Lana Brown, Kendra Calvit, Albert Davis, Janice Davis, Richard Fleming, Vickie Gooden, Phillip Heisser, Yolanda Lowe, Monica Mayo, Glendora Muhammad, Glenda Nettles, LaTanya Washington, Wilma Williams, Zandra McDonald, Dorothy Bates, Ramona Batieste, Fate Boxley, Jacqueline Bradley, Geraldine Brown, Eunice Cheatham, Tamara Cole, Hayley Collins, Robin Conner, Carole Cotton, Angie Davis, Erica Davis, Lashonda Dixon, Sandra Ellis, Diane Fleming, Christopher Fulton, Christine Gaines-Jones, Lavon Gibson, Priscilla Grady, Anita Green, Gabrielle Green,  Carolyn Hall, Gladys Harried, Stacy Heflin, Roderick Holmes, LaShonda Jackson, Candice Jackson-Davis, Margaret January, Janice King, Tammy Longmire, Ella Lyles-Davis, Stephanie McCaa, Tanya McKinley, Amanda Mercer, Holly Neely, Amelia Hopper, Robert Otkins, Gwendolyn Owens, Linda Patten, LaToya Paige, Loran Scott, Patricia Scott, Lisa Skates, Howard Smith, Mandy Smith, Walidah Smith, Heather Stroud, Belinda Thomas, LaTarsha Thomas, Matthew Thornton, Melissa Verucchi, Theresa Waltz, Myra Washington, Vickie Watts, Kacey Weadock, Ashley Williams, Mary Ann Williams, Amanda Wilson, Calvin Woodfork, Arthur Woods, Marilyn Woods, Allison Jowers and Alice Morrison.

NASD is expecting even more to be added to this list at the end of this year.

 

Frederick Hill is the superintendent of the Natchez-Adams School District.