The Eupora Rotary Club heard an update from Webster County School District administrators on Aug. 27.
Superintendent Brian Jones and Sue Anne Boatman, director of federal programs and curriculum, presented the update. Their presentation included these highlights:
• The first year of the Career and Technology Center’s Teacher Academy in 2018-19 was a success. The Year 2 program started this year.
• The first-ever Kindergarten Bootcamp was held this summer, two weeks before school started.
• The district received two state-funded grants this summer for two new initiatives. One was for Blended Pre-K at both elementary buildings (up to 20 students each), which began Aug. 13.
The other was a STEM Initiative Grant to target grades K-5 at both East Webster and Eupora elementary schools to expand students’ knowledge in the world of science, technology, engineering and math.
• U.S. History and Science (Biology 1, fifth and eighth grades) scores were among the top 10 in the state on the 2018-19 Mississippi Academic Assessment Program.
• Student enrollment districtwide is 1,799.
• Preliminary data shows all schools are rated B’s, as is the district, on Mississippi’s accountability system for the 2018-19 school year, according to Jones.
