A rose to our Golden Triangle schools, and especially Columbus Municipal School District, for their work in improving student achievement over the past year. The Mississippi Department of Education released its test scores Thursday for the 2017-18 school year and all of our schools showed improvement. In fact, CMSD ranked fifth in the state in terms of year-over-year progress. While all of schools have work yet to do, and in some cases a great deal of work to do, these scores show they are moving in a positive direction. We commend students, teachers, staff, administrators and parents for the hard work these improvements represent. It’s a good shot in the arm for our schools at the beginning of the 2018-19 school year.
A rose to Sudduth Elementary School Resource Officer Reginald Campbell, who helped make sure a bad experience on a child’s first day of school had a happy ending. When first-year pre-K student Peter Nordin realized he had left his Teddy Bear in his cubby on his first day of school, Peter’s mom, Alexis, went to the school entrance where she met Campbell and informed him of the situation. Campbell assured the mom that he would personally “guard” the Teddy Bear over night and make sure it was there for Peter when he arrived the following morning. Campbell not only took care of Teddy, he also gave Peter a police sticker to adorn his back-pack. What might be considered a small act of kindness meant far more to Peter and his mom. It also serves as a reminder that every day, the people we entrust with our school children are going above-and-beyond to make the school experience happy, safe and positive.
A rose to our young entrepreneurs and all those who have volunteered to help them get a taste of running their own business. On Saturday, more than a dozen kids participated in Starkville’s Lemonade Day, a national campaign designed to teach kids how to plan, start and operate their own businesses by opening a familiar enterprise — a lemonade stand. Saturday’s event, sponsored by Castle Properties, Mississippi State’s College of Business, the Mississippi State Entrepreneurship Center and Cadence Bank, was a “test-run” for a program organizers hope to extend throughout the Golden Triangle in years to come.
In the meantime, young entrepreneurs in Columbus have an opportunity to try their hand at running a business. On Sept. 23, up to 30 kids will be provided a space at the Hitching Lot Farmers’ Market to sell their products. The event is sponsored by Main Street Columbus, The Farmers’ Market and Mississippi University for Women. Applications are being taken until Aug. 31 at the Main Street Columbus office on Fifth Street.
A rose to students at Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University for whom Saturday was move-in day. What was once a little noted task has been turned into the first big event on the campuses with faculty, staff, even university presidents turning out to help students move into their rooms. It is the universities’ way of engaging and supporting the students while welcoming them back to campus. It’s also a good way to make the task of slogging boxes from car trunk to dorm rooms a little less of a struggle. Welcome back!
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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