Oxford, Lafayette Schools Awarded by State Superintendent of Education

By Alyssa Schnugg
News Editor
alyssa.schnugg@hottytoddy.com

State Superintendent of Education Dr. Carey Wright visited Oxford and Lafayette County schools Thursday to congratulate them for being “A” districts and present them with an Award of Excellence, and lots of gratitude.

Wright first stopped at Lafayette Upper Elementary at 8:30 a.m. where she spoke with some students and faculty members. The Lafayette High choir performed and students and staff were treated to some refreshments.

At 11 a.m., Wright spoke at Oxford High School after the OHS choir performed for her as well.

Superintendents Adam Pugh for Lafayette and Brian Harvey for Oxford thanked Wright and their prospective faculty and staff and students for helping the district achieve what many schools in Mississippi did not.

The Mississippi Department of Education released the official accountability ratings in the fall for schools and districts across the state and Oxford School District and Lafayette County School District both received an “A” rating.

Three OSD elementary schools hold three of the top 12 slots in the state – Bramlett Elementary, Della Davidson Elementary and Oxford Elementary. These elementary schools also are ranked 1, 2, and 3 for growth in math in the state. OSD also boasted the highest College and Career Readiness percentage statewide.

Mississippi’s A-F grading system measures what overall student performance and their progress from year to year, graduation rates, and college and career readiness.

Bramlett, Oxford and Della Davidson elementary schools all earned an “A” grade. Oxford Intermediate and Oxford Middle schools earned “B” grades, missing the “A” mark by just a few points; however, both schools showed improvement over last year’s scores. Oxford High School earned an “A” grade.

In Lafayette County, the Upper and Lower Elementary and High School earned an “A” grade, and the middle school earned a “B” grade.

Lafayette Middle School missed getting an “A” grade by less than 2 points; however, the school increased its overall points by 27 since last year.

The 2017-2018 statewide accountability showed OSD was:
* 68.5 percent of students are proficient in reading
* 61.9 percent of students are proficient in math
* 73 percent of OSD students are proficient in history
* 80.3 percent of students are proficient in science

The LCSD statewide accountability scores showed:
* 48.7 percent of students are proficient in reading
* 60.1 percent of students are proficient in math
* 58.7 percent of students are proficient in history
* 80.4 percent of students are proficient in science