VIDEO: Working To Make The Grades

WINONA, Miss. (WCBI) – Many students know the challenges of making good grades and keeping them that way. So do school districts.

Winona School District scored well on this year’s state accountability assessment.

“Our students are top notch and we’re glad that this year the scores reflected that,” said Winona Schools Superintendent Teresa Jackson.

Just like grade school students, who are assessed on their progress, the school districts are too.

“We’re really excited for our district and our community that we are in fact a B district this year,” said Jackson.

The scores come out annually and last year Winona School District received a D.

“It’s been a struggle for us. We did have a bobble there from one assessment to the other but that is why we are focusing on the data and focusing on the professional practice of our teacher. That’s something that will with stain the changes in the accountability system,” said Jackson.

Winona Elementary Principal Tabitha McCrory says it wasn’t long after seeing that poor score that the district got to work.

“We’ve really tried to drill down our instruction. We used a lot of data to find out our students needs and plan for small group instruction so we can have a lot of face time with our students to see exactly what their needs are and grow each and every student,” said McCrory.

To help the students grow, Winona Elementary School added a little competition.

“It’s called the house system through the Ron Clark Academy. Every child in the school is divided among 4 houses and they compete for grades and behavior and attendance and this really motivates them to do the right thing daily,” said McCrory.

The Mississippi Department of Education altered the scoring system. Jackson says though they scored higher this year, it was no walk in the park.

“It is a very difficult task to do well in the current system. Assessment and accountability in the state have changed so greatly over the past three years. It’s hard to keep up, especially in a small district with such a lack of funding, with the changes to the different types of assessments. We do a lot with very little,” said Jackson.

The Winona School District will consolidate with Montgomery County School District July 1st 2018. Montgomery County received a D score.