For the second year, the Vicksburg Warren School District has earned a B letter grade from the Mississippi Department of Education.

The Mississippi Department of Education released its unofficial school district accountability grades for the 2022-2023 school year on Thursday morning. Maintaining its B grade after jumping from a D in the 2018-2019 school year, VWSD was one of 47 districts in Mississippi to earn a B grade.

“We are proud of the hard work our teachers, students and staff put into achieving excellence on the state tests. Our principals, district leaders and school board members have done an outstanding job of supporting learning in our district, and it shows in our great results,” said
Superintendent Dr. Tori Holloway. “Thank you to our community partners and families who support our district; we could not be successful without your support.”

Statewide, 87 percent of schools and 91 percent of districts earned a grade of C or higher, an improvement from 2021-2022, when approximately 81 percent of schools and 87 percent of districts were rated C or higher.

Broken down by school, VWSD’s letter grades are as follows:

• Warren Central High School: A
• Vicksburg High School: B
• Bovina Elementary School: A
• Redwood Elementary School: A
• Bowmar Avenue Elementary School: B
• Beechwood Elementary School: B
• Sherman Avenue Elementary School: B
• South Park Elementary School: B
• Warrenton Elementary School: B
• Dana Road Elementary School: C
• Warren Central Intermediate School: C
• Vicksburg Intermediate School: D
• Warren Central Junior High School: D
• Vicksburg Junior High School: F

The state does not rate River City Early College and the Academy of Innovation individually, as scores are shown at each student’s zoned school.

The district recorded a College and Career Readiness Score of 40.2 percent, an increase of 5.5 points from last year. It also recorded a participation rate of more than 95 percent and a graduation rate of 89.5 percent — the highest in the district’s history.

In a release, the district said it continues to make decisions based on what is best for students and to transform the district. Recent innovative changes include: 

• Expanding its Pre-K program from 4 to 17 classrooms, so that every family has the opportunity to enroll their young children in early education and give their child a head start to learning. 
• Building relevancy into high school models through the creation of the Vicksburg Warren College and Career Academies. This model allows all high school students to understand why they are learning specific skills and how they will apply the skill in the career path of their choice. 
• Visioning with students well beyond their walk across the stage at graduation. Students prepare for the path they want to take after high school: enroll in college, enlist in the military, become employed with industry credentials they earned in high school or become an entrepreneur.
• Implementing a framework and system of collaboration amongst building leaders and district-level administrators to achieve wildly important goals. 
• Increasing the number of students who understand how to set, track and achieve academic and personal goals. 
• Forming strategic partnerships with employers, universities and community colleges so our students are better prepared for the next steps after graduation. 
• Investing $143 million in important upgrades to our facilities across the district to make buildings safe and to support the great work that was already happening on the inside. 

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) emphasizes the importance of looking at the individual components that contribute to school and district grades to get a more complete picture of student achievement, particularly student proficiency levels.

“This year’s school and district grades provide further evidence that Mississippi teachers, school leaders and staff have done an outstanding job helping students accelerate learning after the disruptions of the pandemic,” said Dr. Raymond Morgigno, interim state superintendent of education. “I am confident our schools will build upon these achievements so that all students are proficient and prepared for success after high school.”

Mississippi’s school grading system considers many indicators, including how many students score in the top two levels on the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program (MAAP) tests for English Language Arts and Mathematics in grades 3-8 and high school; whether students score the same or higher on state tests each year as new content is introduced; and whether students are graduating within four years of entering the ninth grade. The system also factors in performance on the ACT and advanced high school courses and how well schools are helping English learners and the lowest-achieving students make progress toward proficiency.