After consecutive years of receiving an “At risk of failing” rating, the Leflore County School District faced the possibility of a state takeover. Quality educators were hard to come by and administrators were at their wit’s end as to how to reverse the trend. The schools and their leadership needed a solution.
That need brought the school district and the Foundation for the Mid South together to implement a Teacher/Professional Development and School Improvement program. The program provided training and coaching to all 225 teachers and administrators, focusing on improving their effectiveness in the classroom and the office.
Three years of hard work paid off. The intervention enabled the school district to quickly move up two levels and earn its first “successful” rating. As a result, over 3,000 Leflore County students are receiving much higher-quality instruction, proven through the significant jump in state test scores. Administrators are better at attracting and using resources, bringing in additional funding to provide expertise in lagging subjects and adding more teachers through the Teach for America program. In addition, this progress boosted the district’s ability and confidence to apply for and receive a $5 million grant to focus on improving its struggling high school.
“We had to adapt,” said Superintendent of the Leflore County School District Jean Hall. “The program provided coaching and professional development for all staff.” Veteran as well as new teachers and all administrators received coaching.
“An important outcome from this work,” says Ivye L. Allen President of the Foundation “is that the school system now has a documented approach to follow including best practices, new teaching techniques, and records detailing exactly how they improved their performance.”
These systems will help the district continue to improve over the long-term, regardless of teacher or administrator turn over. When teachers transition to other schools, they take their training with them. Administrators represent sustainability, and providing them with additional enrichment furthers their capacity to provide direction, guidance and resources to the staff.
A new partner with the Foundation in Leflore County, neighboring Greenwood Public School District, has improved as well. While already rated a “successful” school and after one year of implementing the improvement plan, the district moved two of its schools up a level and is striving to earn a “high performing school district” rating.
Three years ago the Leflore County School District was at risk of failing, now they’ve become a model for success. “As a leader you have to be supportive and able to guide staff to changes. We need to be patient. Change isn’t easy,” Hall said. “If we stay the course, we know we’ll be successful.”