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George Elementary, an inner-city school within the Jackson
Public School District, has many challenges and needs. George has a population
of approximately 280 students and a staff that consists of 11 certified
teachers, 9 classified staff members and 2 office clerks, 11 resource persons:
counselor, librarian, literacy coach, interventionist, music teacher, speech
teacher, gifted teacher and 3 custodians. George is located in the Battlefield
Park Community on the corner of Gallatin and Winter Street and many of our
students qualify for free and reduced lunch.
Here at George, the land of the Mighty Jaguars, standards
are high, expectations are high, morale is high, but it is our community
partnership goals, vision, mission and culture that allow us to continuously
reach toward being the best. In each classroom our daily morning routine is for
each student to state this motivational quote: “We are the best, the very best
and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” For each month students are
selected to report to the office to recite the poem “Myself” by Edgar A. Guess,
which is another inspirational tool used to build self-confidence.
The George Elementary family believes that location has no
barriers, single-parent homes have no barriers, qualifying for free and reduced
lunch is no barrier and working minimum wage jobs is no barrier for improving
academic excellence for our students. Therefore, our students deserve
administrators, teachers, support staff, volunteers and a community that’s
caring, supportive, dedicated, competent and knowledgeable. For the 2010-11
academic school year, George Elementary still faces its challenges, but is
successfully ranked as a STAR school in JPS.
Duration of partnerships: 25 years –
Fondren Presbyterian; 15 years – HCSD, Colonial Heights
1,345 volunteers
Impacts 280 Students
Activities: Partners
help plan activities to increase community involvement such as Level Five
Celebration and Star School Parade. Annual activities enhance bonding between
school and community, such as “Women Empowering Girls” and “Men Empowering
Boys” breakfasts. Volunteers assist students in absence of a parent. Other
activities include Read Across America Day, Dr. Seuss’ Birthday, Celebrity
Readers Day, Reading is Not a Trick, It’s a Treat Day, Book Nic, Dr. Martin
Luther King Day and Kindergarten and Fifth Grade Promotion Exercise. Incentives
provided for students on president’s list and honor roll. Volunteers are
mentors, Book Buddies.
Results:
Outstanding gains in academic excellence in last 7 years in weekly assessments,
District Nine Weeks Test and Mississippi Curriculum Test Scores. 2010 MCT2 data
for three-year grade level comparisons show marked improvements in language
arts and math for 3rd, 4th and 5th graders,
with George Elementary’s averages outperforming state and district averages
almost every year.
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