Congratulations Natchez Adams School District. Seriously!  Congratulations!

I had the pleasure of being educated as to the actual achievements of our local school district over the most recent years of 2014 to 2019 this morning at the Friday Forum at the Natchez Coffee Company.   Among the speakers were Fred T. Butcher, Superintendent, Zandra McDonald, Deputy Superintendent, and several other leaders.  These are clearly knowledgeable and dedicated educators who are working hard for our community against adverse circumstances to educate this community’s children.

It was recently reported that the Natchez Adams County School District had received a score of a “D” from the Mississippi Department of Education.  While we all would like to have seen our school system receive a higher score, there is a lot more to this story.

To look deeper and to review the history of the scoring of our local school district, here is how we’ve scored over the last five school years:

• 2014-2015:  F – 415 points
• 2015-2016:  F – 457 points
• 2016-2017: D – 481 points
• 2017-2018: D – 515 points
• 2018-2019: D – 527 points

So, to say that we’re “sitting” at a D is misleading and does not reflect the marked improvements that have occurred.  We are only 9 points from a letter score of a C!  The top achievable score is 700.  This is to be celebrated.  Other improvements have been achieved.  Our truancy performance has improved by 30%.  We now have an attendance rate of 92.35%.  Our graduation rate has improved from 73.6% in 2016 to 84.2% in 2019.

Novel and practical education programs are in place ranging from routine middle schools and high schools to the Fallin Career & Technology Center  to the Early College program whereby it is possible for a child to leave high school not only with a high school diploma but also with an Associates Degree at little to no cost to their parents!

We as a community need to applaud our school district and we need to help them.  There are many ways by which help can be provided.  One is financially.  There is a reward system for perfect attendance.  Financial contributions may be made to this program.  Many children live in dire home circumstances with inadequate nutrition or even the resources to have their school uniforms cleaned.  There are programs that we may donate to for “Back-pack” programs to help provide nutrition over weekends or to have their uniforms laundered.  Another way is to volunteer to participate in reading programs for 30 minutes to an hour.  There is a special focus on preparing 3rd graders to achieve well on tests to demonstrate adequate reading skills at the 3rd-grade level.   I’m sure there are countless other ways a caring citizen can be of help.

There’s a lot of talk about economic development for Natchez/Adams County.  Low hanging fruit for us all is improved education to provide a trained workforce and an educated and engaged citizenry.  Education IS economic development.

Thank you Natchez-Adams School District for your accomplishments under challenging circumstances!  Your work is appreciated!

William A. Thames is a Natchez resident.