Students in Lowndes County schools will be better prepared to enter the workforce with the help of the Mississippi Scholars program.
Valerie Morgan, Advanced Placement outreach coordinator for the Lowndes County School District, presented the program to the school board on Friday. Once implemented, the program would be business-sponsored and community-led, Morgan said.
“The main part is to connect education today with business opportunity and income in the future,” Morgan said.
The program also focuses heavily on taking “mid-range” students to the next level and increasing their chances of being advanced.
Specialized and state-level scholarships also are available to participants in the program.
Starkville School District, Heritage Academy and Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science are area schools and districts participating in the program, Morgan reported.
According to the Mississippi Scholars website, the program has been “highly successful” in training community and business leaders to speak to students about how education can benefit them in the workplace.
The program started with two school districts and 24 high school graduates in 2003-2004 to 76 school districts throughout Mississippi, with more than 14,000 graduates.
“We”re really looking for another opportunity to add another service for our students,” Morgan said.
Lowndes County schools already have various business and industry partners.
“Lowndes County is very fortunate to have the support of our business and industry in our community,” said Edna McGill, assistant superintendent for Lowndes County schools.
McGill recognized the Omnova Solutions Inc. for providing $9,000 in grants to support dropout prevention, Subject Area Testing Program incentives and advanced placement courses. She also recognized Weyerhaeuser for donating $15,000 for advanced placement classes and supplies for science labs.
In other business, the board accepted a $75,000 grant from Mississippi University for Women”s Roger Wicker Center for Creative Learning to start an after-school program at West Lowndes Elementary School.
Kate Brown, project director for the center, explained the after-school program would focus on four areas identified by employers as key to working in the 21st century — critical thinking, creative thinking, collaboration and communication.
“It will include an academic component,” Brown assured board members, noting the overall goal of the program is to remediate struggling learners.
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