Dr. Martha Liddell, interim superintendent of the Columbus Municipal School District, spent Friday afternoon speaking about a subject close to her heart — dropout prevention.
Borrowing inspiration from U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mahatma Gandhi and the “On the Bus” Mississippi Dropout Prevention Program, Liddell used a combination of personal anecdotes and PowerPoint slides to underscore her message: It still takes a village to raise a child; the village holds the power to be the change it wants to see in the world; there is a village in Columbus that can — and should — come together to make sure every student graduates.
Around two dozen people — mainly clergy and area civic leaders Liddell said she hand-picked for their influence and their concern — gathered in a dimly lit room at the old Hughes Elementary School to listen as she described her brother”s struggles with school.
As the youngest of 11 children, Liddell said she watched as her older brother, Albert, lost interest in class and eventually stopped attending altogether.
“I tried to be a village for my brother, and he still struggled,” she said. “He lost his light and passion.”
According to the Mississippi Department of Education, the state”s current dropout rate is 15.9 percent — roughly 10,000 students each year. It”s a number that well exceeds the national average of 10.9 percent, and it troubles Liddell.
As a solution, she encouraged local leaders to embrace a 2020 plan, which includes a goal of getting black students and white students to graduate at the same rate. By doing so, she said, more than $1.5 billion could be added to the state”s economy.
“We are losing too many children to the streets before it”s time,” she said.
Jan Ballard, executive director of the United Way of Lowndes County, said she found the informal discussion useful and was pleased with Liddell”s recent appointment to the interim superintendency as the city school district seeks a replacement for Dr. Del Phillips, who resigned last month in order to accept a position as Director of Schools for the Sumner County School District in Gallatin, Tenn.
“She”s just really impressed me as someone who”s got the kids at heart,” Ballard said after the discussion. “I believe she”s well-qualified and has the support of the community at large.”
Liddell has not announced whether she intends to apply for the permanent superintendent position.
School board president Glenn Lautzenhiser said he and board member Bruce Hanson continued their search for a “headhunter” consultant firm this week, examining two they may recommend to the rest of the board as they solicit outside help to find and recruit the next superintendent.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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