The Tishomingo County School District has earned an "A" rating once again under Mississippi's public school accountability system. This is the 5th consecutive year the district has earned an "A" rating. It earned its first "A" rating in the 2018-2019 school year. Mississippi's schools and districts are graded on an A-F scale. The grades are part of the state's accountability system, which helps teachers, school leaders, parents, and communities know how well local schools and districts are serving students. The district ranks 24th in total points in the state with 713 points out of 1000.

"We are so excited to maintain our 'A' rating. This is truly a testament to what can happen when a group of people exemplify hard work, extreme focus, and selfless dedication. Being an 'A' requires each board member, each leader, each teacher, each employee, each child, each parent, and each community to support one another and to invest in whatever it takes to be excellent. Our schools are made up of people who truly want each student to be successful and to be prepared for the next level – whether that be the next grade, the workforce, the military, or college. That is what makes our district and our communities successful. It's the people and their willingness to serve and to support our children," stated Superintendent Christie Holly.

Two schools in the district earned "A" ratings. Belmont School and Tishomingo County High School both earned "A" rankings. In fact, TCHS is 9th in high school points in the model with 860 points out of 1000, and Belmont is the 10th ranked in points for nontraditional schools with 731 points out of 1000.

Mississippi's school grading system considers many indicators, including how well students perform on Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) tests for English Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school, whether students are showing improvement on those tests from year to year, and whether students are graduating within four years. The system also factors in performance on the ACT and advanced high school courses and how well schools are helping English learners and the lowest-achieving students make progress toward proficiency. "We will finally be out from under the impacts of Covid-test data after this school year. So we still have some performance inflation due to how the accountability model banks high school scores from 8th grade to 10th grade. We may experience a shift back to the middle in some areas due to that for next year's rating."

"Our district uses student data continuously to narrow our focus to improve instruction, to provide student support, and to increase successful student outcomes. After the pandemic, this has been difficult, but our teachers, counselors, leaders, and support staff have risen to the occasion to close achievement gaps and to increase individual student success," explained Holly. The district has taken advantage of government pandemic funds (ESSER) to provide more instructional support during the school day with assistants, in-school tutors, and after-school tutors in the spring. It has also used these funds for technology upgrades, HVAC and lighting projects, and other instructional needs. "Working with our school board to make sure we are spending these funds on things that matter has been extremely important. I feel like we have made wise investments with this money to make immediate impacts on student learning and teacher support while also improving some of our infrastructure needs," Holly stated.

The district's schools received the following ratings under the accountability model for 2022-2023:

• Belmont School – A
• Burnsville Elementary – C
• Iuka Elementary B
• Iuka Middle – B
• TCHS – A
• Tishomingo Elementary – C

"It is such a blessing to live in Tishomingo County for many reasons, but having a great school district in which staff members love each child and want him/her to succeed is a main reason our county is special," stated Holly. "We appreciate the unwavering support our communities give us and the faith they place in us to educate their children. It is a huge responsibility and undertaking that each person in our district – from board members to school staff – takes very seriously and considers an honor. Tishomingo County is blessed to have our teachers, leaders, and staff that truly love their jobs and our kids. This ranking is well-deserved for all the hard work they do each day," Holly said.

For more information about Mississippi's Accountability System, visit https://www.mdek12.org/OPR/Reporting/Accountability/2023.