No more MPSA...

[Maroon Eagle]

What percentage of the North Delta students live in the North Panola school district? I ask because North Panola could be considered an underperforming district and North Delta would be a viable option under the circumstances for people residing in that district.</p>

 

[robertd38606]

What percentage of the North Delta students live in the North Panola school district? I ask because North Panola could be considered an underperforming district and North Delta would be a viable option under the circumstances for people residing in that district.</p>

Correct. Just as I posted before, we had lots of kids from Charleston, Sardis, Marks, and other places that simply had no other good options. I have no idea on the percentage though.

 

[Eureka Dog]

who majored/minored in a particular subject (Math, Physics, English, etc.) teaching those particular courses, you will be surprised how few schools actually have Math majors teaching math courses, or Physics/Engineering majors teaching HS Physics. I know the % of such is pretty low across the board (public and private). The big issue is, of course, money. Most engineering grads will not even consider teaching due to the discrepancy in pay. (And that discrepancy grows larger as a person continues in his/her career.) It seems that only the VERY elite private schools across this country and some of the public magnet or charter schools approach having teachers who majored in a particular field of study teaching such courses in the classrooms.

I majored in Comp. Sci. and, for a time, was a substitute teacher for some of the lower CS courses at one of the local Jr./Community colleges in Hinds County. I was appalled at what those full-time teachers (with 10+ years) were being paid. At that time, I'd only been out of school for 2 years and I made as much or more, straight out of college, than some of those teachers were making.

 

[HLRebel]

nm

 

[Eureka Dog]

asdf</p>

 

[Eureka Dog]

to not allow its members schools to play the MPSA/MIAS when the Mississippi public schools are pretty firmly entrenched in 50th place in the country? I'm not saying the MPSA/MIAS would elevate that ranking, but I still shake my head when I hear Ennis Proctor, Inc. issue the accreditation factor as a reason not to play.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

...and it's not limited to the SACS-accredited MAIS schools. Proctor did try to make that a limitation though in the past-- at least he had voiced it if I recall correctly.

 

[robertd38606]

who majored/minored in a particular subject (Math, Physics, English, etc.) teaching those particular courses, you will be surprised how few schools actually have Math majors teaching math courses, or Physics/Engineering majors teaching HS Physics. I know the % of such is pretty low across the board (public and private). The big issue is, of course, money. Most engineering grads will not even consider teaching due to the discrepancy in pay. (And that discrepancy grows larger as a person continues in his/her career.) It seems that only the VERY elite private schools across this country and some of the public magnet or charter schools approach having teachers who majored in a particular field of study teaching such courses in the classrooms.

I majored in Comp. Sci. and, for a time, was a substitute teacher for some of the lower CS courses at one of the local Jr./Community colleges in Hinds County. I was appalled at what those full-time teachers (with 10+ years) were being paid. At that time, I'd only been out of school for 2 years and I made as much or more, straight out of college, than some of those teachers were making.

Just goes to show how little SACS can mean in certain situations. One of the very best teachers I ever had did not have a major or minor in the subject. As long as the teacher knows and fully understands what they are teaching, they can be a great teacher. I don't have a major in algebra, but I could teach the hell out of it if I wanted to, major or not.

 

[HLRebel]

I'd like to know the percentage of kids at North Delta who commute from Oxford.

There is, quite simply, no rational explanation for this.

And I don't have time to reply to everyone, so I'll just say this.

In general, Mississippi schools are terrible, and small private institutions give the affluent people in this state an easy way out of actually addressing the problems in their city/county.

If white kids in the Delta HAD to go to Rosa Fort/Clarksdale High/West Tallahatchie the schools would be forced to get better. Those of us who want to make places like the Delta and Mississippi better, look for actual solutions to the problems by pointing out the inherent problems in the current system. It's not working, and we all know it. If we keep doing what we've been doing, then we'll keep getting what we've always gotten.

Finally, those of you who say that its a great idea to send your kids to a private school so they don't have to compete in sports at public school should never be allowed to ***** about the so-called "Pussification of America."

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

Finally, those of you who say that its a great idea to send your kids to a private school so they don't have to compete in sports at public school should never be allowed to ***** about the so-called "Pussification of America."

So some kid who loves to play sports just needs to sit his *** on the bench for his whole high school career because he needs to go to a public school. Give me a break. I'm sorry but saying someone is a ***** by actually wanting to play in a game is 17ing stupid.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

[No message]

 

[robertd38606]

I'd like to know the percentage of kids at North Delta who commute from Oxford.

There is, quite simply, no rational explanation for this.

And I don't have time to reply to everyone, so I'll just say this.

In general, Mississippi schools are terrible, and small private institutions give the affluent people in this state an easy way out of actually addressing the problems in their city/county.

If white kids in the Delta HAD to go to Rosa Fort/Clarksdale High/West Tallahatchie the schools would be forced to get better. Those of us who want to make places like the Delta and Mississippi better, look for actual solutions to the problems by pointing out the inherent problems in the current system. It's not working, and we all know it. If we keep doing what we've been doing, then we'll keep getting what we've always gotten.

Finally, those of you who say that its a great idea to send your kids to a private school so they don't have to compete in sports at public school should never be allowed to ***** about the so-called "Pussification of America."

The high schools in Oxford are good, no doubt about it. It would be a stretch for someone from Oxford to say they came to ND for education. Those kids are there for sports, or possibly Christian orientation and small class sizes. Overall though, if you came to ND from Oxford, it was for sports. I would disagree on the pussification of america argument though. I know what you're saying, and I agree that society is becoming pretty sissy; however, some kids, athletically, just cannot compete with some of the athletes at larger schools, no matter how much heart, guts, or determination they may have. Their only option if they really want to play is a private school.

 

[Eureka Dog]

to the accreditation with a little degree of knowledge.

To keep this short, I'll just say this: (1) It's tough for any non-elite (and by elite, I mean New England type elite) private school to hang onto above average teachers if a public school in an above average school district will provide tenure and a better retirement fund. Especially if said teacher has eyes on making serious moves upward in school administration. For most MPSA/MAIS schools, this is an issue. (Remember, this is the poorest state in the nation.)

(2) As for the levels awarded to the schools systems in Mississippi... A level 5 school in a state ranked # 50... What exactly does this tell us? In regards to this question, I have spoken with a former teacher and administrator who worked for 30+ years in various Mississippi schools districts. After retiring, this person served as an advisor to various schools systems/schools. This person relayed numerous stories of how teachers in EVERY school would tell state that their school was doing fine, no matter what that school's "level ranking" was. This person also stated that the ranking system had some merit, but for the most part, it served mostly to provide a "warm fuzzy" for the teachers and administrators throughout the state. As this person out it, "So, you're a level 3/4/5 school in Mississippi. Mississippi - the state with the 50th ranked schools in the nation - in America which ranks no higher than 18th in the math & science areas when compared to other countries. Is there really a reason to celebrate?" Some/most of the MPSA/MAIS schools may not be any better, but let's not lose sight of the overall picture.

Newsweek recently put out a list of America's Top Public High Schools http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/murrah_high_makes_top_high_schools_list/.

On Newsweek's list, Mississippi was represented by TWO (2) schools. Two! Let that sink in.... Murrah HS came in at #1058 and Oxford HS came in at #1269. That means, on average, every other state had twenty-one (21) schools that placed ahead of Mississippi's top ranked school. Not a whole lot to write home about.

There are ideas out there that could get MS out of 50th place, but the teachers' union would NEVER allow such things to be put in place. Meanwhile, the politicians just keep on throwing money at what they THINK is the problem. More money isn't the main issue, but that's the only box most people can think in.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

It wouldn't bother me if every private school in MS closed shop tomorrow, and frankly I think many of them owe their continued existence to closet racism, but just because someone wants to actually get in a game doesn't make them a *****. Some people just aren't great athletes and can recognize their limits. Now the parental decision to change schools for athletics is another question entirely.

 

[seingeyedog]

Washington School rocked academically when I was in school. Greenville High? TL Weston? Um, not so much.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

[No message]

 

[GopherDawg]

Here's one problem.

If I understand you correctly, and I may not, you're comparing college students from a private school to college students from a public school and making a judgement of their high school based on the experiences of those two groups. The problem is that college students make up only a portion of the students from a school. Usually, (I am generalizing, but this is the way it is in the Golden Triangle area anyway) the college students from private schools make up a larger portion of their graduating class.

So, for example you might be comparing the top 45% of a graduating class from a public school to the top 80% from a private school. That's not apples to apples. You'd have to know what percentile each of those students were in in their respective classes to make a direct comparison. The kid who responds to you as not being prepared by the private school could correspond directly percentile-wise to a kid from the public school who didn't go to college at all, yet you're saying he's equal to any public school kid who went to college and concluding the public school kid was better prepared.

 

[615dawg]

You can't talk about these things without bringing in some of these people that will defend the private school system in Mississippi tooth and nail. No one can deny that most every private school in this state started for segregation reasons. Most of them no longer exist for that reason, but its arguable that some of them do.

We're talking college preparedness, not college success. I went to a small, redneck, middle of no where high school, for instance. We had a great math teacher and a good history teacher - the rest of the upper level classes were taught by morons. I was top of my class in math at this high school. When I got to state, I nearly had to change my major from Engineering because Calculus I was so difficult for me.

Did my high school provide an inadequate education? No, but I was not prepared for college. I would have been prepared for College Algebra at the local junior college, but not Calculus. I would have checked "I felt my high school did not adequately prepare me" for Calculus.

My work ethic kicked in and I finally got it. I overcame the fact that my high school wasn't on par in that area.

Its a touchy subject, because many people on both sides are passionate about it. The truth is, my numbers are saying that the majority of graduates of non-accredited private schools had trouble adjusting to college academically. Not all, but a significant majority. 28 percent said that they felt adequately prepared, that's usually a good number of the top tier students.

The numbers for accredited private schools and Level 4/5 schools are nearly flipped from this. The point of my thesis is that accreditation matters. The original point of this thread was if the MHSAA extended invites to the 38 SACS accredited MPSA members, it would better the education at the non-accredited member institutions.

I did not mean to imply that if you went to North Delta you got a horrible education. Yes, there are places that I would not ever send my children to the public schools. NEVER. But there are places that the private schools are delivering a lower breed of education than their public counterparts - that's where the concern is. There are places with good private schools are on par with the school district - the motivation in talking with parents are things like "thugs, drugs, fights, etc." even when the public school in question has little or no major disciplinary record. I question those moves as racially motivates - I'm sorry.

 

[o_1984Dawg]

.

 

[Fresno Bob]

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

 

[dawgstudent]

[No message]