After two school districts in Coahoma County recently received failing grades from the Mississippi Department of Education, the educational development committee of Clarksdale-Marks Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. took action.
A “Think, Speak, Act” Tank has been held at the Crossroads Cultural Arts Center the past two months with educational leaders and members of the community to identify issues. Specific problems were identified during the October meeting. Short and long-term solutions were discussed during the meeting Tuesday night.
Adrienne Hudson, a former Coahoma County High School English teacher, assistant principal and 2002 graduate of the school and current executive director of Regional Initiatives for Sustainable Education (RISE, Inc.), is co-chair of the education development committee and has facilitated the meetings. She encouraged everyone who attended to bring someone else to the next meeting, which will be sometime in February 2020.
Everyone at Tuesday’s meeting divided up into groups and went around to different stations to discuss solutions for teacher retention, after school programs, parent involvement and mental health issues. Then everyone present came together to talk about all of the issues for the final half hour.
The Clarksdale and Coahoma County school districts both received failing grades.
CMSD Superintendent Dr. Earl Joe Nelson, in his first year, was at Tuesday’s meeting and said he recently had two mandatory meetings about accountability issues that made him look back to 2016. He said one way to retain teachers is to let them know things the district can provide them including a $5,000 sign-on bonus when they begin working there. He also said teachers and administrators get reimbursed if they go to school and earn an advanced degree.
“The retention side of it is where we have to invest in our teachers meaning we have to invest in them by sending them to quality and intentional professional development to grow them,” he said.
Nelson said it is important to have a proper evaluation process for teachers and administrators in place and good leaders at every school.
“We can put all of these things in place, but if the leader is not in place, the retention part of it is not going to stay,” he said.
Nelson said one of the after school programs the Walton Foundation awarded the CMSD money for an after school program surrounding literacy.
“One thing we have to work on as a school, we can’t wait until the spring to do this,” Nelson said. “We have to do this in the fall.”
Nelson said there will be funds set aside for the spring and fall next year.
“The first 60 days are the most vital,” he said.
On the issue of parent involvement, having a schedule of events on the front end of everything was discussed. Those events include report card night and open houses.
Nelson said the CMSD has a behavioral specialist in the district and a collaboration with Region One Mental Health to deal with mental health issues.
“We need to have more support with the parents around us,” said Nelson, adding parents need to hear their child’s stories because there are myths about mental health out there.
“Mental health is real.”
Hudson said it was important to have a digital resource for schools to share information regularly.
“As I moved around the room, the first thing that stood out to me was we need to do a better job of knowing what resources are available and sharing that,” she said.
Josephine Rhymes, a retired educator and current director of Tri-County Workforce Alliance, said there should be a “media blitz,” possibly with colorful postcards, to reach parents do not come to school to let them know how important they are in their child’s education.
“We talked about meeting wits, letting parents know they are a part of education,” Rhymes said.
Rhymes also said one way to have good teachers in the school system is if they were provided funds to take the necessary tests. She said local teachers are likely to stay in Coahoma County if they can get a job in their hometown.
Hudson said another obstacle for teachers was finding them a place to live. She mentioned the possibility of partnering with churches.
“We created just a file in the office to be able to say here are some places you could possibly rent,” said Hudson reflecting on her time as an administrator.
Clarksdale Collegiate Public Charter School Executive Director Amanda Johnson provided a suggestion that could benefit both high school students and young adults preparing to be teachers.
“Are there 11th to 12th graders who would do CPR training and babysitting training class they do for Red Cross?” Johnson said. “I think Red Cross does training for babysitters and pays them to do babysitting.”
Johnson said the babysitters would be able to save money for further education.
“You give the young people something to do to make money and we get quality babysitting for parents who might just be in the next room trying to study for the practice exam,” she said.
Hudson said there will be electronic communication with everyone who attended the meeting Tuesday before the next meeting in February.
“I think we can definitely move mountains if everyone is pushing the same direction,” Hudson said.
Coahoma Community College director of student engagement LaShasa Griffin is the Clarksdale-Marks Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
“This has been phenomenal,” said Griffin closing the meeting. “It’s very important education is one of the major focuses of what we do and at Delta Sigma Theta, it definitely is. When you do these types of things with us, it makes our community a better place.”
