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2017McCombDistrict

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2017KemperCountyHigh

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2017SpannElementary

2017FranklinCounty

2017DeLisleElementary

2017ClausellElementary

2017UMSchoolofNursing

2017PuckettHighSchool

2017CreateFoundation

2017NRBurger

2017HighlandElementary

2017PowerAPAC

2017TupeloPSD

2016-MaryBethuneAC

2016-PascagoulaGautier

2016-McCombSchoolDistrict

2016-HindsCountySD

2016-NWRankinHighSchool

2016-HattiesburgHigh

2016-EarlTravillionAC

2016-PuckettElementary

2016-HawkinsElementary

2016-PassChristianMiddle

2016-CFNM-Everfi

2016-MCEE

2016-BooksintheBarbershop

2016-Grenada-MoveToLearn

2016-HeidelbergHigh

2016-MSSymphonicBand

2016-NRBurgerMiddle

2016-ThamesElementary

2016-SpannElementary

2016-GeorgeElementary

2016-JCJC-BobcatMath

2016-MDOT-RIDES

2015 - LaurelDistrict

2015-DeltaState

2015-ThamesElementary

2015-PassChristian

2015-RowanMiddleSchool

2015-HattiesburgHigh

2015-AberdeenHighSchool

2014-GulfportHighSchool

2014-BayStLouis-Waveland

2014-NRBurger-RedCross

2014-NRBurger-IAmICare

2014-LamarCounty

2014-WoodleyElementary

2014-ThamesElementary

2014-MonroeCounty-GELI

2014-LockardElementary

2014-CommonCoreWebsite

2014-NRBurger-RuffRyders

2014-MaryBethune

2014-PoindexterElementary

2014-JonesCountyJrCollege

2014-VicksburgWarren

2013 - George Elementary

2013 - Jackson Public

2013 - Jackson County

2013 - Clinton District

2013 - Watkins Elementary

2013 - Woodley Elementary

2013 - Hattiesburg High

2013 - Pass Road Elem.

2013 - NR Burger Middle

2013 - Magee High School

2013 - Poindexter Elem.

2013 - UMMC

2013 - Tupelo District

2013 - Mary Bethune

2012-Brookhaven District

2012-Cleveland District

2012-Claiborne District

2012-George Elementary

2012-Highland Elementary

2012-Louisville Municipal

2012-McComb District

2012-Newton District

2012-Newton Elementary

2012-NR Burger Middle

2012-Perkinston Elem.

2012-Pontotoc Middle

2012-Power APAC

2012-Rowan Elementary

2012-Sale Elementary

2012-Spann Elementary

2012-Watkins Elementary

2012-Yazoo County High

2011-Amory/Dalrymple

2011-Amory/Gilmore

2011-Amory/QEF

2011-BL Bell Academy

2011-Boyd Elementary

2011-Brown Elementary

2011-Cleveland District

2011-Clinton District

2011-Franklin Academy

2011-George Elementary

2011-John Hopkins Elem.

2011-Johnson Elementary

2011-NR Burger Middle

2011-Power APAC

2011-Thames Elementary

2011-Watkins Elementary

2011-Woodley Elementary

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Membership

Partnership Training

Mississippi Association of Partners in Education #PartnershipPower

2012 Governor's Award
McComb School District and the City of McComb, Black History Gallery,
Young People’s Project of McComb, McComb Youth Council NAACP, Library

Duration of partnership: 3 years
12 volunteers
Impacts 200+ students

The McComb School District and the community of McComb have a partnership called “Community of Promise: Building Strong Schools and Neighborhoods Through History, Activism, and Collaboration.”
 
Launched in 2005, it is a groundbreaking effort to incorporate issues of democracy, civic engagement, race, and identity into the curriculum and community understanding through a study of the Civil Rights Movement, human rights and labor history. This effort helps to: 
  • Increase student achievement for all students,
  • Facilitate a deeper understanding of and engagement in participatory democracy,
  • Promote positive cross-cultural relations.

This work grew out of an effort in McComb to build bridges across racial lines to advance community relations. The superintendent and community stakeholders recognized that moving forward required an understanding of McComb’s civil rights and labor history. The school district contracted with Teaching for Change to help weave lessons about civil rights and labor history into the curriculum, subject to approval by the Mississippi Department of Education. Meetings with teachers, community members, and ministers of all ages and races shaped the current curriculum.

The McComb School District, represented by Superintendent Therese Palmertree, also plays an active role in the Mississippi Civil Rights Education Commission, with representatives from the MSDE, the William Winter Institute, and the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute on Citizenship and Democracy. As a result of the Commission’s work, a new U.S. history framework was announced as referenced by Senate Bill 2718. McComb is taking a lead statewide in the implementation of this legislation.
 
As with any social change, the work involves the contribution of many groups and individuals. In 2009, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation provided a grant for professional development, evaluation, and documentation. This allowed the District to contract with a full time professional development specialist Gloria Stubbs, who has helped teachers to incorporate more interactive instruction and helped facilitate partnerships with community groups. McComb received a USDE Teaching American History grant which includes partnerships surrounding school districts, the University of Southern Mississippi, University of Mississippi-Oxford, and George Mason University.
 
The focus for 2011-2013 to continue this effort is driven by the overall goal to draw on McComb’s history and current resources to work collectively across racial lines for a better quality education for all McComb public school students and quality of life for all citizens. The four overarching intentions are that all of the work will contribute to increasing academic performance, particularly reading, writing, and critical thinking; promote active civic engagement; positively impact personal racial identity and race relations; and be part of a collaborative school district-community effort.
 
Activities
 
Oral histories of elders, taped by McComb High School students, make a valuable contribution to the preservation and understanding of local history. The interviews will become part of the USM Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage archive.  Interviews can be viewed at a website designed by high school students: www.mccomblegacies.org. U.S. history course revised to cover a wider span of history; students playing active roles in course pilot. Local history tours with the support of community members. Young People’s Project leadership training program.
 
Results
 
Stakeholders reported through interviews that there is increasing dialogue about race across racial lines. Open Source Leadership Institute identified positive impact on student achievement, particularly at the junior high school; scores for the school as a whole improved on state level assessments in reading and writing. MHS Alumni Gala honoring Mrs. Hilda Casin, 2011 MHS Hall of Fame Lifetime Achievement honoree, served as a platform for intergenerational dialogue and mentoring.

Mississippi Association of Partners in Education