NATCHEZ — West Elementary School received a special visit Wednesday from the Mississippi Department of Education as part of a study on the Literacy-Based Promotion Act.

An MDE representative and members of the American Institutions for Research (AIR), visited the school to collect research for a report on how districts implemented the Literacy-Based Promotion Act.

MDE Director of Communications Patrice Guilfoyle said the report would be used to inform MDE’s work to ensure the department meets the needs of students in the school district.

Natchez-Adams School District was selected because it has MDE-supplied literacy coaches who work with schools in the district, Guilfoyle wrote.

Literacy coaches are educators with reading and writing expertise who educate teachers on best practices. Coaches were assigned a few years ago based on a school’s percentage of third-grade students who were reading below proficiency on the state assessment.

The Literacy-Based Promotion Act was passed in the 2013 legislative session. Part of the act was the Third Grade Reading Summative Assessment. Last year, all NASD elementary schools surpassed the average state test results.

But the act is aimed at more than just third graders; the act promotes literacy for students in kindergarten through third grade.

And, even though kindergarten through second-grade students don’t take the assessment, they will in a few years.

West kindergarten teacher Geraldine Brown said children who are prepared early would have less trouble later.

“If we start early, there won’t be as many who need to be repeating the test,” Brown said.

While at West Wednesday, AIR members interviewed teachers, administrators and district officials; observed classrooms and led a teacher focus group.

Brown and first-grade teacher Roderick Holmes were two of the participants in the focus group. The act, Holmes said, brings about structure.

“We know exactly where we need to go,” Holmes said.

During the focus group, Brown said she mentioned the need for more funding and getting parents and communities more involved.

“It was a great discussion,” Brown said.

Holmes said he was glad higher-ups were trying to get a better idea of what was going on from the people implementing the act.

“They need to know exactly what is going on,” Holmes said. “They need to know the pros and cons of the laws they adopt.”

By coming to the schools, Holmes said it gives a face to the people on the ground. Third-grade teacher Robin Conner-Battiste agreed.

“It feels wonderful, because I feel like they want to know from who’s actually in the ring,” Conner-Battiste said.