Schools celebrate high watermark

Three of Marshall County Schools attained a B rating this year, a cause of celebration and recognition for teachers and staff.

Byhalia High School attained a B rating, the Middle School attained a B rating and Byers Elementary School also attained a B rating.

Although the scores have been in for several months, celebrating these B ratings, a first for the school district, was on the mind of a number of supporters of the Byhalia Schools.

Byhalia High School Alumni Association, that started out in 2017, set a goal to see the high school become A rated in five to seven years, said Gary Anderson with the alumni association.

The celebration was postponed until December because students were taking tests, he said.

Guest speakers included Byhalia Mayor Debby Weathers, Rep. Bill Kinkade, superintendent Carrie Skelton, Mark Turner and Lender Luce with the school board and William Sidney Payne Jr.

The Byhalia High School gym was packed with exhilarated students for the celebration. They were treated to pizza afterward.

“The response of the students was outstanding; they were elated at the B rating,” Anderson said.

“Members of the alumni association visited the school to encourage students to double-down and see to make that happen. There was a day when graduates came back to speak to students so they would understand and know they could accomplish these things.”

A tail-gating party at Homecoming was also held to let students know the alumni wanted to see children achieve, he said.

“The gym was packed. The students were very vocal and interested in what we were doing,” Anderson said. “We had at least six ovations from students.”

But it was boots-on-the-ground that made the new ratings possible, the first B ratings ever in Byhalia, Anderson said.

Teachers and staff were recognized for the work at ground zero that made this high watermark possible.

John Cochran was instrumental in the success in math scores. Cochran and his wife were recruited from the Mississippi Delta by principal Willie Bolden.

“Last year's freshmen and junior class set the standard for state testing in math,” Anderson said. “Math went from a C rating to a B rating in one year. It was John Cochran who did it.”

A number of projects formed the foundation for increase in student achievement.

Preparation for the ACT test was instituted by Bolden, an activity that took place on Fridays.

Tina Kimmons, counselor, and Sheila Sims both worked on the ACT testing and dual enrollment and WorkKeys for students. Scholars were enrolled in Blue Mountain College or with Northwest Community College.

Over 50 scholars signed up for dual enrollment.

Cochran and his wife, Felesia, focused on history and math, two areas where students excelled.

Others recognized were Atoyia Jackson, Jason Gammons, social studies and history teacher, and Sheila Sims, who along with Kimmons and her colleagues pushed ACT WorkKeys and ASVAB.

Kimmons pushed WorkKeys which prepares students for careers and recruiting for military careers.

“The students were so glad to hear us talk about their B rating,” Anderson said. “I told them, we encourage you to take another step forward. Mark my words, when you go to A we will go deep in our pockets to provide for you.

“Byhalia High School is now poised to go from a B to an A rating, to become the first school in the county or Holly Springs to excel and break the record for the first time in the history of the Marshall County School District.”

School counselor Tina Kimmons expressed joy at the celebration.

“We were very proud as a school to have someone celebrate us for a job well done,” she said. “The goal is always to do what is best for children.

“The high school prepares students to be college and career ready when they walk across that stage.” “Students took the Armed Service Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB), ACT, in 2020. That, along with the collaborative effort of the staff to prepare students for the ACT WorkKeys Assessment, contributed to our success as well.

“This senior class is super smart.” Kimmons said. “I'm trying to get over $1 million in scholarships for next year. The goal is always to do what is best for the children and make sure they are college and career ready.”

Kimmons is a graduate of Byhalia High School. She graduated from Northwestern State University in counseling education and has worked as a counselor for 15 years.

“I graduated from this school and my goal was to come back home and give back to my school,” she said.

John Cochran graduated from the school of engineering at Ole Miss and Felesia graduated from Ole Miss in political science.

Cochran is a graduate of Holly Springs High School Class of 1993.

The couple were recruited from Indianola where he taught math and she taught history.

Sunflower County was successful and Bolden recruited the two.

“We definitely set goals from the very beginning,” Cochran said.

John Cochran teaches Algebra I and Felesia teaches U.S. History, government and economics.

The team worked for growth and proficiency for all students taking the state exams.

Ninety-two percent passed the Algebra I and History exam and growth in math was 100 percent.

“We were both glad to be recognized and appreciated but most of all we are just proud of our kids,” John Cochran said.

Cochran thinks the new technology has made a significant impact on student learning because of online resources. Felesia helped students with WorkKeys Assessment ACT preparation and U.S. History.

“The kids have done well and we hold them to standards,” he said.

Cochran focused on Algebra I and tutorials on campus and online in the evenings.

“I just want to note I was not the only algebra teacher,” Cochran said. “Atoyia Jackson and Karin Hardman also taught math.”

Algebra I and English II together are weighted heaviest on the state testing comprising a total of 600 possible points out of a total of 1,000 points.

Cochran said all subject area teachers worked together to set high standards for their students to bring consistency across the curriculum.

Sheila Sims, librarian and school testing coordinator and media specialist, was another staff member singled out for praise.

From Greenville, Sims graduated from Valley State University with a degree in computer science and earned a master's in school leadership from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas. She is from Tyler Texas.

“I worked closely with elected teachers in ACT WorkKeys and with Mississippi's dual enrollment program,” Sims said.

Workkeys is a workforce assessment tool that helps students be college and career ready when they graduate. Juniors and Seniors take the ACT WorkKeys test.

Sims spoke about the school and community.

“We are a small community, family based, encouraging and supporting students,” she said. “I think kids are so excited for their hard work, and are very respectful and eager learners and are tech savvy. We had online platforms for students to complete assignments. We made sure kids were acclimated back into the classroom at school after COVID.”

An educator of 24 years, Sims said, “I am very proud of our students and staff.” County School District Superintendent Dr. Carrie Skelton summarized the excitement at Byhalia High School.

“The Marshall County School District is excited to have had three schools earn a B rating for the 2021-2022 school year,” Skelton said. “The major importance of this achievement, in my opinion, is that our teachers and students worked hard to regain academic ground lost during the pandemic. Our growth rates show just how hard the students and teachers worked to make that happen. We are grateful for the support of the parents, who pushed their children to try their very best.

“A successful school and district rating has a major impact on the growth and development of communities, and as I explained to the students during the Byhalia High School celebration, their hard work has proven the students of Byhalia and Marshall County are more than capable of achieving excellence.

“The students of Marshall County School District are the future of Marshall County, and we hope this accomplishment will serve as inspiration for other students to work hard. We hope this will serve as a catalyst to gain even more positive parental and community relationships. I hope we can use the momentum from these successful ratings to continue to push our students forward, so they can become the leaders we need to move Marshall County forward for many years to come.”