Marcie Ivy

EDU 6001: Community Involvement for School Improvement

One Year Action Plan for Partnerships
April 7, 2017
The Okolona Elementary School is located in Okolona, MS. It is one of three schools in

the Okolona School District. It is currently a k-4th grade school. The faculty consists of a

principal, a counselor, a literacy coach, one math coach, 18 regular classroom teachers, two

inclusion teachers, an interventionist, a self-contained special education teacher, and two Ameri-

corp tutors.

OMSSD has had many obstacles to overcome in the past few years. The district was

taken over by the state in 2007. The district came out of conservatorship in 2010. To be in

compliance with the Office of Civil Rights, grades 5 and 6 were moved to the junior high wing

of the high school (while at the elementary school the 5th and 6th graders were housed in the 3

story building which was not handicap accessible). In the school year 2015-16 we were a C

rated school district. The elementary was ranked a B and the high school received a C. New

accountability standards in place for school ranking we are currently an F performing school

district for 2016-17. The elementary school received a C and the high school received an F.

If we receive an F again we will be taken over by the state again.

The current enrollment for Okolona Elementary is 270 students. The student: teacher

ratio 15:1 which is lower than the MS average of 16:1. Ninety six percent (96%) of the student

body is African American. All classroom teachers, administration, and certified support staff are

High Qualified to reach in their area of certification. Okolona Elementary School is a high

performing elementary school on the statewide math exam compared to most elementary schools

in Mississippi. Okolona Elementary School has a passing rate of 42% while the state average is

28%. On the English Language Arts (ELA) exam, Okolona Elementary School falls substantially
 Marcie Ivy
EDU 6001: Community Involvement for School Improvement
One Year Action Plan for Partnerships
April 7, 2017
short of the average proficiency of most elementary schools in Mississippi. Okolona Elementary

School passing rate is 17% while the state average is 29%.

Support and communication from our parents is of upmost importance. Title I parent

meetings are held at the beginning of the school year to familiarize parents with educational

programs. Weekly newsletters are sent home to inform parents of events, student progress, and

weekly assignments. An automated phone system is also in place in the district to deliver

messages to parents. Teachers email parents and many use the Remind app to keep parents aware

of things happening in their class. Literacy and Math nights are scheduled monthly to give

parents tips and awareness of state standards. Struggling students are referred to the Teacher

Support Team (TST). Parents are invited to attend TST meetings whether the intervention is

behavioral or academic.

The following are partnerships that enhance learning mainly through monetary donations

and academic support: Food Giant, Baby Steps, Fresh Start, Excel, Little Annies, Walmart,

Dodges, and Sprint Mart.