One year after Dr. Elizabeth Duran Swinford took the position of superintendent of the Vicksburg Warren School District, members of the Board of Trustees are “pleased” with her performance and are considering extending her two-year contract, board president Zelmarine Murphy said Tuesday night.

Following a timetable set at her hiring, the five-member board met in closed session Tuesday night to evaluate Swinford’s performance for the second time in a year.

“She signed on to do a task,” said Murphy, the District 2 trustee, following the nearly two-hour-long meeting. “She has put some things on to meet her goals. We would want to give her ample time to put things in place and to see that we help her, encourage her and provide for her what she needs to meet that task.”

Swinford was first evaluated in January after four months on the job and received a favorable rating.

She was not present and no action was taken Tuesday night, Murphy said, adding the board will meet with Swinford in executive session after Thursday’s regular board meeting.

This morning, Swinford said she was contacted by the board president and told of her evaluation.

“It always makes me feel good to know I’m moving in the right direction and that I’m the pleasing the board,” she said. “It’s not always a perfect relationship. It puts a smile on your face when you know you’re doing the right things.”

Swinford is paid $125,000 annually.

During Swinford’s first year, Murphy said the board was pleased with the district’s gains in MCT2 and Subject Area Tests scores released by the Mississippi Department of Education in July and the district’s jump in the seven-part accountability rating system, which will be officially released by MDE in late September.

“We saw some progress,” said Murphy, who, along with District 3 Trustee Jim Stirgus Jr., voted against hiring Swinford. “Some of the things we ask for are ongoing… MCT2 ongoing. We think the positives outweigh.”

Former District 1 Trustee Jerry Boland, District 4 Trustee Joseph Loviza and former District 5 Trustee Tommy Shelton voted in favor of hiring Swinford.

In January, Boland was replaced by Bryan Pratt and Shelton, by Sally Bullard.

One of Swinford’s goals when hired last August following the retirement of Dr. James Price, she said, was to increase test scores.

VWSD students showed gains in math on the MCT2 tests and Subject Area Tests given in May.

Of the nearly 700 third-graders tested last year, 57 percent scored proficient or above in math, compared with 49 percent in 2010 and 39 percent in 2009.

Last year, 88.4 percent of high school students passed the Algebra I test, an increase from 71.5 in 2010 and 42.1 in 2009. Last year’s percentage exceeded the state’s average of 85.4 percent.

In language arts, the most gain was in third grade, in which 43 percent of students scored proficient or above, an increase from 35 percent the previous two years.

The increase in test scores contributed to the district’s being lifted two notches to “Academic Watch” from “At Risk of Failing,” a label it held for two consecutive years.

Swinford announced the accountability rating Aug. 5 at the district’s annual convocation.

Ratings cover seven descriptive titles from “Star” to “Failing” and are based on test scores, graduation rates and a growth component.

Swinford is the first woman and the sixth superintendent to lead the district since its founding in 1987 from the consolidation of city and county schools. Prior to joining the VWSD, she served as assistant superintendent for human resources in East Baton Rouge Parish School District.

Swinford, who holds a doctorate in education in organizational leadership from Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, also has during her career been a teacher, dean of students, assistant principal and principal at schools in Florida and California.