2020 Blue Ribbon schools have been announced. Two are on the Coast.
Two Mississippi Coast schools have been named 2020 National Blue Ribbon Schools thanks to their success in reducing the achievement gaps between student groups, such as racial, socioeconomic and disability categories.
Popp’s Ferry Elementary School in Biloxi and D’Iberville Elementary in the Harrison County School District joined two other Mississippi schools in winning the national honor. The other winners, in Madison and DeSoto Counties, were recognized for high test scores, while the Coast honorees excelled in ensuring that students from a range of backgrounds could succeed at the school.
Vivian Malone, the principal at Popp’s Ferry, said the school provided extra tutoring during and after school, kept in close touch with parents about their children’s progress, and constantly reviewed data to understand areas of weakness. This year is the first time Popp’s Ferry has been recognized as a National Blue Ribbon School, she said.
“It was just us all working together and pulling together,” Malone said. “And this is what happens when we work together.”
Unequal schools and unequal opportunities are a persistent problem in the United States. National research has shown the achievement gaps between Black students and white students, and between Latino and white students, improving slightly since the 1970s, but they remain significant. And the gap between high-income and low-income students nationally is now twice as big as the Black-white achievement gap.
Mississippi has recently gained national recognition for its test score gains, but achievement gaps remain wide. According to a 2019 report, the percentage of white students who scored proficient in math was nearly 30 points higher than the percentage of Black students. Between students who weren’t economically disadvantaged and poor students, the gap was 31.4 points.
Under the Mississippi Succeeds plan, the state aims to eliminate the achievement gap between Black students and their peers in the long term. But it’s not a new goal. The 2001 federal No Child Left Behind law aimed not only to close achievement gaps, but to see every American student testing “proficient” by 2014. That was six years ago.
In the unending struggle to give all Mississippi kids a good education, Popp’s Ferry and D’Iberville might have something to teach the rest of the state.
Both Popp’s Ferry and D’Iberville are Tile I schools, meaning at least 40% of their student body is low-income.
Both schools, like the Coast itself, are diverse: neither has a majority of one racial group. At D’Iberville, the student body is 45% white, 25% Black, 10% Asian, 10% Hispanic and 11% mixed race. At Popp’s Ferry, the student body is 38% white, 35% Black, 16% Hispanic, 2% Asian and 9% mixed race.
D’Iberville’s application for the award explained how the school’s population has changed in the last decade, thanks in part to events like Hurricane Katrina and the BP oil spill, requiring new attention to serving the needs of poor students in particular.
“As a result of the changes in the community over the past ten year[s], the enrollment has increased, the English Learners has increased, and the economically disadvantaged population has increased by thirty percent,” the application said.
Here’s more from each school’s award application on how they closed achievement gaps:
D’Iberville Elementary
- Review data to identify students in need of extra help. “The philosophy is to identify and intervene as early as kindergarten.”
- Adapt to changes in student population. In 2009, D’Iberville won National Blue Ribbon recognition for overall achievement. In the years following, the student body grew and diversified. In the 2015-16 school year, the school got a D rating from the state. In the most recent rating, it got an A. “Faculty had to evolve and adapt to accommodate the new wave of incoming students.”
- Provide opportunities for learning outside of academic classes. Students have art class and library class once a week each, and physical education three times a week.
- Create individual plans for students who are struggling, offering extra tutoring as needed.
Popp’s Ferry Elementary
- Trust teachers. Popp’s Ferry says its teachers are trusted to “think outside of the box.” “Teachers are recognized as the professionals that they are and are encouraged to seek out new and innovative practices for the classroom.”
- Listen to everyone in the community. Apart from student tests to measure progress, a School Needs Assessment survey asks all stakeholders, including parents and teachers, to share their views on the school’s culture, discipline, instruction and support.
- Make time to work with students at their level, including those who are excelling. Each school day includes 45 minutes of “Super Time,” in which students who are above grade level may have the opportunity to work in classrooms at the next grade level.
- Extend the school day for kids who need extra time. After-school tutoring in small groups is provided for kids who need extra instruction in reading and math. “Students attend the two hour after-school tutoring sessions twice per week based upon the needs of the individual student.”
