STARKVILLE — “The odds may be great, but you are greater,” said Rev. Jessie King, superintendent of Leland School District, as he spoke to Yellow Jacket staff Jan. 6. “You are the change. You are the hope. You are the reason that the next generation will thrive.”
Overcoming the odds was the theme as Yellow Jacket teachers, administrators and classroom support staff gathered for the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District Winter Convocation ahead of the start of a new semester.
“I’m sure there are those who didn’t believe we could do it,” Superintendent Tony McGee shared, reflecting on the A milestone the district achieved last year. “But a lot of hard work and passion from our team made this happen. The Mississippi Department of Education announced our district’s A-rating back in September, and we believe it validates so much of what our teachers and students are accomplishing every day in the classroom, on the athletic fields and on stage.”
As the first day back at work for the semester and a unique opportunity to get more than 650 staff members in one room, convocation became an opportunity to celebrate a milestone, showcase accomplishments in the classroom and extracurricular activities, gain inspiration from a longtime educator and reaffirm a focus on student growth.
“I’m a graduate of Starkville High and call myself a Yellow Jacket, and I want to thank you,” said Mayor Lynn Spruill, who joined the event program to offer comments and congratulations from the community. “You have done incredible work over the last year to achieve the A-rating. The city can pave all the roads and have the safest, cleanest community, but the quality of our school district is the first question we are asked when recruiting businesses to stay here and move here.”
On Jan. 6, teachers rode buses and carpooled to The Mill at MSU for Winter Convocation and enjoyed a delicious luncheon along with a program that included performances by several Yellow Jacket student groups, updates from administrators and a keynote address.
The highlight of the luncheon was a message from King, who is a product of the school district he now serves and a graduate of Delta State University, Mississippi Valley State University and William Carey University.
King shared his personal story of being part of the first integrated class of students to attend Leland Public Schools, where the historic year served as what King described as an “experiment” for the entire state and a catalyst for generational change nationally.
“I had no real knowledge that I was a part of the experiment for the state,” he said. “Or for the nation because the tides were turning and mindsets and ideologies were moving forward. The needle was changing as it relates to equity and equality.”
He related this experience to the uphill battle teachers today – even teachers at SOCSD – still face when working to help students learn and overcome factors such as poverty, chronic absenteeism, limited access to healthcare, and broken families.
“Today’s message is about overcoming the odds,” he said. “My story is a story that is embedded in poverty where educational resources were scarce. But my story is not about hardships alone. It’s also a story about perseverance. It’s a story about courage and determination.”
But, King shared with SOCSD staff that his story is broader. It’s a story of the power of educators to provide not only learning, but hope to students – a hope that, for him, led to a life’s calling.
“No, my story is also about the power of educators – educators like you who can ignite and transform lives in the midst of unfavorable odds and tough challenges,” he said.
He explained that teachers in his early years provided a place where he felt special, where he was able to step outside of his tendency to stay quiet and learn to participate and where he got his earliest opportunities for leadership. He shared that these experiences helped him know that he wanted to make that same kind of difference in the lives of others.
It’s the kind of difference he said the teachers in the Starkville community are making every day in SOCSD classrooms – a difference that has gained a new benchmark with the district’s A-rating on the 2023-2024 Mississippi school accountability ratings.
“You’re the architect of futures,” he shared. “For every child that walks in your classroom, you’re more than just a teacher. You are the ones who help dreams take root and give young people the hope that they need to build a life of purpose and a life of dignity. It is teachers like you that can change the trajectory of an entire community.”
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