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Business
Stallworth's Airport Suit May Not Have Standing, Harkins Says 'A Reach'
Former Jackson Municipal Airport Authority Commissioner Jeffery Stallworth's lawsuit challenging the impending "takeover" may not have legal standing or support from the other interested parties involved, including the current JMAA …
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Person of the Day
Lawson Marchetti
Lawson Marchetti, a junior at Jackson Preparatory School, will join 52 other students from across the country in the national finals of the Poetry Out Loud competition on May 3 …
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Biz Roundup
Fitness Plus, Hilton Garden Inn, Xcel Rehab and Batson Fundraiser
Fitness Plus owner Marty McCubbins opened his business to fill the need for a good health studio in northeast Jackson after the Deville Plaza YMCA's closure last year.
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MDE Report: Mississippi Graduation Rate Swells, Dropout Rate Falters
By sierramannieThe Mississippi Department of Education reports that Mississippi's graduation rates have seen significant improvement between 2011 and 2015.
"Districts showed a four-year graduation rate of 78.4 percent for the 2014-15 school year, up from 74.5 (percent) in the 2013-14 school (year)," an April 26, 2016 MDE press release said. The press release also reports America's high schoolers as having graduated at a rate of 82 percent for the 2013-2014 school year.
Dropout rates were down to 12.8 percent in the 2014-2015 school year from 13.9 percent the school year prior. National Center for Education Statistics reports the percentage of high school dropouts as 6.8 percent in 2013.
Mississippi's graduation and dropout rate figures are based on students who entered 9th grade for the first time as of the 2010-2011 school year.
“Those efforts, as well as the Mississippi Department of Education providing more technical assistance to districts and school counselors to help students explore multiple pathways to college and careers, have contributed to dramatic decreases in students leaving school and increases in graduation,” Dr. Carey Wright, state superintendent of education said in the press release. “However, there are districts in the state that still struggle to keep students on the path to a high school diploma, which means we have more work to do.”
The graduation rate for students with disabilities was 27.5 percent.
"We are far from where we need to be when it comes to graduation rates for students with disabilities. The MDE will continue to provide technical assistance to districts to help them support the educational needs of all students,” Wright said in the press release.
Read the full press release, which includes a link to MDE's full report, here.
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S. Korea: N. Korea Almost Completes Nuclear Test Preparation
South Korea's president said Tuesday that North Korea has almost completed preparations for a fifth nuclear test, and the country has reportedly placed a new midrange missile on standby for …
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LGBT Debate Spurs Arrests at North Carolina Statehouse
A day of protests and arrests around North Carolina's statehouse marked what's likely to be weeks of impassioned debate over a law limiting protections for LGBT people.
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Rouse to Lead Mississippi's College Board Starting May 8
Dr. Doug Rouse will become president of Mississippi's College Board on May 8, leading trustees who oversee the state's eight public universities.
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Religious Leaders Object to Religious Objections Law
Several Methodist leaders are objecting to Mississippi's new religious-objections law, saying it violates their religious principles.
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Education
First Lady Obama: Strive for Excellence, Fight for Rights for All, Reject ‘Backward’ HB 1523
First lady Michelle Obama dropped a history lesson and urged nearly 800 graduates to fight for excellence and use their power and numbers in voting to strive for progress at …
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Business
Moratorium on Payday Lenders, Liquor, Title and Pawn Stores in Ward 4 Moves Ahead
Last Monday the Jackson City Council Planning Committee passed an order to curtail the further proliferation of "title loan, payday loan, check cashing, liquor store and pawn shop businesses."
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Politics
State Treasurer Laments 'Missing $31 Million' in Coffers, Lt. Governor Says She's 'Wrong'
State Treasurer Lynn Fitch sent a letter to legislative leadership last Wednesday expressing concerns over the state's debt service, after the Legislature passed a bond bill in the final days …
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Person of the Day
Dr. Norman C. Nelson
Dr. Norman C. Nelson, a former vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, is dead at the age …
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City & County
10 Local Stories of the Week
There's never a slow news week in Jackson, Miss., and last week was no exception. Here are the local stories JFP reporters brought you in case you missed them.
