Lynn Walton presided over the meeting. Ryan Kelly provided the opening prayer and Brandon Hodges led us in the Pledge of Allegiance. Lynn led the club in the Four Way Test. The meeting was held at the Holiday Inn in Hattiesburg and via Zoom.
Lynn requested a volunteer to serve as the program committee chair for the upcoming year. She also requested a volunteer to fill in for Wes Brooks who is taking a six-month leave of absence. Brandon Hodges is considering accepting this challenge.
Bill MacLauchlan introduced today’s guests. Paula Brahan is here today and is rejoining the Club. Landon Woodall is also here. He is currently a member of the Columbia club but is in the process of transferring his membership to our club.
Jerome Brown then introduced today’s guest speaker, Dr. Robert Williams, Superintendent, Hattiesburg Public Schools. Dr. Williams has worked in education for more than 20 years. He has been with the Hattiesburg Public School System for the past 18 years. He was joined by Jasmine Baxter who works in the district’s communication department.
Dr. Williams reviewed the district’s vision and mission statements and the five goals established through the strategic plan. A SWOT analysis has been conducted for each of the five goals. The district’s vision is to graduate students who are college or workforce-ready. The mission is simply to educate.
In the academic success goal, Dr. Williams noted that math is still a struggle as is U.S. History. However, improvements have been made in ACT scores. All 11th graders are now required to take the ACT. Improvements have been made despite the number of intelligently disabled students in the program.
Reading levels are increasing and have outperformed state levels in 2021. Math scores have improved by 5%.
Post-Secondary enrollment has improved and now exceeds state enrollment. The majority (97.4%) of the district’s teachers are rated as highly qualified. The district has an 87% teacher retention rate, which is improving. A student/teacher residency program has been established with William Carey University and the University of Southern Mississippi. This program has improved new teacher retention.
The district continues to work on a positive school climate culture. Student daily attendance rates have improved to 92.95%. That is below the state’s average but is improving. The graduation rate in 2016 was 72.9% but improved to 89.67 % in 2021. The district outperformed the state average graduation rate of 85%.
In the Family Community Engagement goal, improvements are being made. A total of 350 students are dually enrolled in PRCC and now USM. A total of 25 students have now graduated with an Associate Degree and a high school diploma. They have also created a grandparent support system. Many of their students live with grandparents. In their kindergarten readiness program, more than 50% of the students are now kindergarten-ready.
The district recently implemented a new EMT program. It is the first EMT training program in the state’s high school. Students are doing their EMT studies outside of school. Six are now enrolled in the EMT program and will soon be able to sit for the state exam. When they pass, they will be able to work in an ambulance or in an emergency room.
Dr. William’s goal is to help the 3,722 students wake up excited each morning to go to school.
Lynn thanked Dr. Williams for his presentation. There being no further business to come before the club, she adjourned the meeting with our motto: “Service Above Self.”