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NATCHEZ — Natchez-Adams School District officials received recognition this week at the 51st annual conference of the Mississippi School Boards Association.

The conference was held Feb. 20 through 22 in Jackson.

NASD received a Lantern Award and a Torch Award.

The Lantern Award is given to school districts with a B letter grade under the Mississippi Department of Education Accountability Performance Ratings.

The Torch Award is given to school districts rated C or higher under the MDE Accountability Performance Ratings where 90 percent or more of the district’s students are participating in the federal free or reduced lunch program and at least one school is rated B and no schools are rated F.

According to a 2023 report from MDE, NASD has a four-year graduation rate of 88.4 percent and a dropout rate of 7.6 percent.

Individually, schools in NASD were graded as follows: Joseph Frazier Elementary, B; Gilmer McLaurin Elementary, A; Susie B. West Elementary, C; Morgantown Middle School, C; Robert Lewis Magnet School, C; Natchez Freshman Academy, C; Natchez Early College and Natchez High School, C.

MDE assigns school and district performance grades on an annual basis based on student achievement, individual student growth, graduation and dropout rates and participation rates. Statewide assessments are used to measure student proficiency and growth in grades 3-8 and high school students taking end-of-course subject area assessments in Algebra I, English II, Biology, and U.S. History.