Alarmed by fake news, states push media literacy in schools
Alarmed by the proliferation of false content online, state lawmakers around the country are pushing schools to put more emphasis on teaching students how to tell fact from fiction.
Hey kids, salt stays and grains go in school meals
Schools won’t have to cut more salt from meals just yet and some will be able to serve kids fewer whole grains, under changes to federal nutrition standards announced Monday.
Audit finds explicit material on school-issued computers
A review by the Mississippi auditor’s office found pornography and other explicit material on computers that some public schools issued to middle school and high school students.
Education funding bills fail to advance
A pair of bills legislators could use to revamp Mississippi’s education died after failing to meet a Thursday deadline.
Top school districts could become exempt on reports to state
The Mississippi House voted Monday to exempt top-rated school districts from having to report information about curriculum and some other matters to the state Department of Education.
Schools closing early in Lowndes, Oktibbeha
Mid-morning sleet, accumulating on bridges and roadways, in some areas meant an early end to the school day today.
Numbers show broad achievement gaps in Miss. schools
Oxford is Mississippi’s highest flying school district, according to the state’s rating system.
Our View: Political maneuverings damage value of MDE’s ratings
Today, the Mississippi Department of Education released its “report cards” for the state’s schools and school districts for the 2015-16 school year.
Goodbye to homework for some elementary schools
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. — Guess what, kids? No homework. Really. All year. A small but growing number of elementary schools and individual teachers are doing
Miss. sets new score levels for A-to-F school grades
Mississippi’s public schools and districts have a new scoring system in place for assigning A-to-F grades after a series of dustups that started last month.
In some US schools, resistance to ending corporal punishment
Two licks with a wooden paddle in the principal’s office was the price 11-year-old Kaley Zacher, of Dexter, Georgia, paid for ignoring warnings about falling behind in her school work.
State 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 of Education officials had originally wanted.
Accrediting panel dumps tougher A-to-F school grading scale
Members of the state Board of Education face a thorny decision: How many public schools and districts should get A grades and how many should get F grades under Mississippi’s rating system?
US gives directive to schools on transgender bathroom access
Public schools must permit transgender students to use bathrooms and locker rooms consistent with their chosen gender identity, according to an Obama administration directive issued amid a court fight between the federal government and North Carolina.
Government report: Crime dropped overall in nation’s schools
The latest government snapshot of school crime paints a picture of safer schools with declines in violent crime, bullying and harassment because of sexual orientation.
Special statewide school district could take over faltering schools
A new statewide school district could take control of faltering local districts and keep them indefinitely in hopes of improving academic performance under a bill advancing in the Mississippi House.
Mississippi schools ranked second-to-last in national rating
An evaluation of school performance finds that Mississippi’s academic achievement gains have outstripped gains nationwide from 2003 to 2015, but gives the state’s public schools a D overall, ranking them second-to-last.
Meal programs expand summer nutrition for kids
A government-backed nutrition program seeks to provide two million meals to Mississippi schoolchildren this summer.
Survey finds US schools ramping up safety measures
U.S. public schools beefed up security measures with safety drills and parent notification systems in the years surrounding the massacre at Connecticut’s Sandy Hook Elementary School, according to a government survey released Thursday.
Public schools will get another year of relief on grades
State officials say Mississippi’s public schools will have another year to keep the high grades they have been given, even though test scores indicate lower ratings.