City & County
JPS Improves, Stays Stable in Language Arts, Math; Average ACT 15.6
Jackson Public Schools remained stable or saw improvement across the third- through eighth-grade English language arts and math assessments in 2015-2016 Mississippi Assessment Program, or MAP, results that the Mississippi …
Education
Ole Miss Quietly Mothballs ‘Dixie’
The University of Mississippi shed one more vestige of its Confederate past today, announcing that it is doing away with the song “Dixie” starting with this season’s football festivities. But …
Board Seeks Middle Ground on A-to-F School Grading Scale
State Board of Education members are backing a plan that would assign A grades to fewer Mississippi schools and districts than an administrator task force recommended, but more than Department …
City & County
JPS On Probation, Full Audit Ahead
Jackson Public Schools Superintendent Cedrick Gray says that the district plans to install GPS systems on buses to track their routes, ensure that each school has working fire extinguishers and …
State Puts Jackson Schools on Probation, Orders New Audit
Not only is a state commission putting the Jackson school district on probation, but members ordered an audit of all the district's schools, expressing concern over safety and discipline.
State Recommends Probation for Violations in Jackson Schools
Four years after the Jackson school district nearly lost its accreditation over problems with special education programs, Mississippi's second largest district is in trouble again with state oversight authorities.
Governor Criticizes Education Agency on After-School Money
Gov. Phil Bryant is calling for immediate action by the state Board of Education to remedy misspending of federal money that's threatening the state's ability to fund after-school programs.
Education
Conservative Legal Group Enters the Charter School Lawsuit Fray
A conservative legal group is intervening in the Southern Poverty Law Center's lawsuit challenging the state's charter-school law.
City & County
JPS Superintendent Defends District, Award
Serving nearly 4,000 employees and more than 28,000 students, 78 percent of whom receive free or reduced lunch in the state's largest city, Jackson Public Schools often faces loud internal …
City & County
JPS Dads Make the Million Father March
Early this morning, a handful of bright-faced elementary-school students and their tired but happy-looking dads participated in the Million Father March from Jackson Public Schools' Enoch building to Poindexter Elementary …
City & County
Cedrick Gray of JPS Named Superintendent of the Year
The National Association of School Superintendents named Cedrick Gray, who has been JPS superintendent for four years, as one of two 2016 Superintendents of the Year, along with Timothy Purnell, …
Cover
Ways to Save for College Students
When it comes to your college life anywhere, the most important thing is being able to start it off right. Ryan Lytle of U.S. News Education says that one of …
City & County
Josalyn Filkins, Principal at Midtown Public Charter School
When Josalyn Filkins sat down with the Jackson Free Press, she talked about her plans for the future of the school and for engaging with the community as Midtown tries …
Cover
Chronically Absent: Is Quality Education in Juvenile Detention Possible in Mississippi?
Rankin County Youth Court Judge Thomas Broome told the Jackson Free Press with some pain that before 2006, juvenile-detention centers in the state didn't have to have school. With few …
Editor's Note
Education and Lessons from the Game of ‘Life’
Ask just about anyone, and they'll agree: Education is in a bizarre place. In most cases, though, the person you ask will follow up their answer with something about the …
