Madison County Schools celebrates ‘A’ grade
State Superintendent Carey Wright, a handful of government leaders and students and teachers from several schools gathered last week to celebrate Madison County Schools receiving an ‘A' grade for the seventh year in a row.
MCS was one of 31 school districts which received the state's top classification for the 2018-2019 school year.
At the ceremony, which was held at the district's central office in Ridgeland, Wright presented first-year MCS Superintendent Charlotte Seals with a trophy commemorating the achievement.
"Madison Schools is one of only nine school districts in the state to have achieved an ‘A' rating in each of the last four years," Wright said. "And you all have earned seven in a row. I think that says a lot about what you've got going on in Madison County."
The grading system for schools in Mississippi, Wright added, is thorough. It takes into account the progress of all students, not just a select group. It takes into account attendance, graduation rates, test scores and several other factors.
Before Wright took to the stage to congratulate the assembled students, teachers and administrators, Speaker of the House Phillip Gunn offered some words of encouragement.
"From the central office to each school, everyone is working together, pulling together to make sure you have what you need to excel," Gunn said. "But at the end of the day, today is a celebration of what you have been able to accomplish. All these other people are here to support you, but at some point, it's you that has to take the test, and it's you that has to score well on that test. So today is about you and your accomplishments."
The celebration, which drew around 100 people and far exceeded the expected crowd size, concluded with a performance from Madison Middle School's Kaleidoscope performance group.
When it was over, Seals stayed behind to take photos with all the teachers, parents and students who got to skip class to attend the ceremony.
"We're still not satisfied," Seals said. "We got an opportunity today to celebrate what we've accomplished, but there's always more work to be done. We're already working on our eighth year (of ‘A' grades) in a row, and I believe we ranked fourth among all districts in the state this year, and we won't stop until we get to the top."