Our View: Our school crisis is a community crisis
In times of crisis, it is important not to panic, but instead focus energy on a clear-eyed view of the circumstances with an emphasis on solutions.
‘No right answer’: Parents grapple with education options for children during pandemic
Christine Lawson had “tossed around the idea of homeschooling” her two sons in the past, but it is the continuing COVID-19 pandemic that has convinced her to do it.
Lawson and her older son, who is 11, both have health conditions that make her wary of sending the boys back to Lowndes County School District in case they unknowingly bring the virus home. Schools across the state and nation closed their doors and implemented online learning from March to May due to the pandemic, and families throughout the Golden Triangle have much to consider when deciding whether to send their children back into school buildings next month.
Reps hope to introduce family dynamics in the classroom
State Rep. Kabir Karriem (D-Columbus) is still in touch with Mary Moore, his home economics teacher from eighth grade. She still teases him about the time he put salt instead of sugar in a batch of cookies, he said.
Governor’s school continues to challenge state’s brightest students
Dakiriyah Doss, 15, said she didn’t know when she applied to Mississippi Governor’s School that she would be helping her fellow classmates at Columbus High School.
Bernie Sanders unveils plan to overhaul public education
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders wants to suspend taxpayer funding of new charter schools and ban those that are for-profit as part of his plan to overhaul public education that he released on Saturday.
Sen. Younger: Proposed pay raise for teachers should be higher
Local legislators expressed disappointment Friday with two bills in the Mississippi Legislature affecting education, one of which aims to increase salaries for public school teachers and the other which — had it not died in committee — would have raised the pay for school board members.
CMSD second-graders will use robots to learn coding basics
Robots will roam second-grade classrooms at Columbus Municipal School District later this month.
Second grade students at CMSD will learn how to code and program two types of robots with the help of mentors from the Golden Triangle Coding Academy Nov. 26-30.
Lottery, education are focuses of legislative forum
A new lottery and public education spending dominated Starkville forum where four local legislators spoke about the results of last month’s special legislative session.
Public school lobby can claim win in halting formula rewrite
Mississippi’s traditional public school lobby is not dead, any rematch over rewriting the school funding formula could have to wait until after the 2020 elections, and the prospect for increased funding of the current formula looks uncertain.
Democrats seek to change the terms of school funding debate
Opponents of changing the way Mississippi funds its public schools say that all schools will come out poorer under a proposed new formula than if the current one were fully funded.
Mississippi House advances new public school funding formula
Mississippi House members chose Republicans vision of practicality and transparency in education funding Wednesday over Democrats’ aims for more money and more equitable treatment of poor students.
House plan: Little change in aid to schools in next 2 years
There would be little change in state aid to Mississippi public school districts in the next two years under a new funding formula being pushed by House Republican leaders.
Some criticize fast track for education funding revision
Some Democrats say the public needs more time to study a proposal to rewrite Mississippi’s education funding formula.
Key question in formula rewrite: How are future amounts set?
Mississippi lawmakers will again attempt to rewrite the state’s school funding formula in the legislative session beginning Tuesday, but it remains unanswered how they will decide what to spend.
Credit agency: Court decision could hurt school finances
A credit rating agency is warning that Mississippi school districts could feel more financial pressure after the state Supreme Court’s decision that the Legislature isn’t obligated to fully fund a school budget formula.
Mississippi high court: School budget formula is not binding
The Mississippi Legislature does not have an obligation to fully fund a school budget formula that was put into law two decades ago, the state Supreme Court said Thursday in upholding a ruling from a lower court.
Analysis: Pickering’s school funding ideas cut against grain
Legislative leaders recently said that they’d still like to rewrite Mississippi’s public school funding formula, and urged people with ideas to speak up.
Lawsuit: Mississippi fails to educate black children equally
Mississippi is denying good schools to African American students in violation of the federal law that enabled the state to rejoin the union after the Civil War, a legal group alleged Tuesday.
Analysis: Can lawmakers ignore the law? Attorney general says so
Few political observers think former Gov. Ronnie Musgrove has much chance of winning his lawsuit trying to force the Legislature to spend the full amount demanded by Mississippi’s school funding formula.
Chamber hosts education awards
Cheyanne Allred was shocked to hear her name called.