Jackson Academy & Madison/Ridgeland Academy, MS...

[Jetstorm]

Thanks to you all for such great info. on schools, shopping and the general area.
I liked that the Madison Elem. school has the strings program as my Dd had strings in her third grade year (all students did) and she's taken violiin ever since, but what about the midle schools, do they have a strings program or strings group in their music program? My Dd will be entering sixth grade this year. Is that concidered middle school there or still elementary?
I still need more info. on the Northwest Rankin Middle school and possibly Ridgeland if the schools are good there. We liked Madison, but Dh's job is in Flowood so Brandon/Reservoir may be better for us and his commute to work.
Anyone have some nice subdivions recommendations for me to look, preferrably in the $250 - $325,000 range with a community pool?

 

[Terry36]

I did an internship in 4th grade there last spring for four months. I was offered to interview for a full-time position, but couldn't because we are moving out of state for family reasons.

Honors classes - there is a gifted program called Pathways (PA). It is a pull-out program that serves 3-5 grade. The kids leave their homeroom for one morning a week and one afternoon a week. To get into this program, you'll need to request to have your children tested. The kids really all love this program and the PA teachers are great! See additional question below.

Teachers - all of the teachers are certified! Many have Master's degrees and I know there are several National Board Certified teachers in the school. The school district offers a big financial incentive for teachers to get Nationally certified, so quite a few take advantage of it. Excellent

I'm not sure of SACS or Blue Ribbon info. I DO know that it is a model school for the Mississippi Arts Commission, which they are very proud of. See below for the links.

Student/Teacher Ratio - There were 28 kids in my 4th grade class last year. Keep in mind that this will be drastically reduced by the impact of the new elementary school being built this year. I think about 40% of the students will end up at the new school, so ratios should be much lower soon. It is a big school, which is intimidating to some people, but each grade has its own wing, so it really feels smaller. There were nine 4th grade teachers last year, and a similar number in 3-5. I don't have first hand experience with the lower grades, though. DD will be in 4th grade this year! Is the new school being built near this one? what is the address?

Zoning - There is a list of neighborhoods and a map on the Station website. Also, every teacher has their own website that they are required to update weekly. The school site is www (dot) madisonstation.com


Other things you might be interested in - MSE offers a Strings program for 2-5 grades. There is also an after school Drama program. It really is an awesome school! I have never seen kids so excited to learn in my life. Any more questions, let me know!Excellent!

Thank you so much for your responses. The school sounds very interesting. I checked MS online Assessment and Accountability Reporting System which provides the schools test scores and overall standing and the 2006/2007 scores are excellent however the 2007/2008 scores were not available. I would love to see if they are the same or improved.

Please further explain MS being a model school for the Mississippi Arts Commission?
How do they incorporate the Arts in every class?
Please further explain the gifted program called Pathways (PA). What is involved in these hourly classes?
How easy is it for a kid to transfer in the middle of the year?
How are the kids? Are they snobbish/cliquesh or down to earth and welcoming?
How old is the school?
What tests are the kids given? R they required to take the SAT?
What is the diversity makeup of the school?
Are projects assigned and if so are they completed in school or are they take home projects?
How much homework a week? R the kids doing homework for 3 or more hours a night?
What about P.E.?
What Sports programs are offered?

Here are the links to the SACS (Southern Assoc. Of Colleges and Schools) http://www.sacscasi.org/ and the Blue Ribbon Program: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Ribbon_Schools_Program

Also, can you offer a few names of neighborhoods for housing purposes around the school?

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer these questions. I am totally new to the area and want to make the best choice for my daughter.

 

[5Slays]

As far as the "personality" of the towns - Madison has the highest per capita income of any town in MS, and lots of people are very proud of this. Many people consider this the "best" suburb of Jackson, and some people can be kind of snobby about living in Madison, but mostly not. Brandon is more working-class than either Madison or Flowood, but does have a lot of nice neighborhoods. The downside to Brandon, IMO, is that the commute would not be fun. Flowood is kind of in the middle of the spectrum.

Let me know if you have any more questions!

I think you are thinking of Brandon as in out by the Reservoir (Northwest Rankin Schools), which would be a horrible commute because of Lakeland Drive, however, if you were in Brandon "Proper" (Brandon schools) it is a quick hop on I-20 to anywhere. I believe that you are giving the wrong impression of Brandon (as in being working class), Madison (as in being higher class people) does have a higher per capita income because according to http://www.publicschoolreview.com/state_towns/stateid/MS - Brandon's average home price is $111,853 and Madison's is $146,500 so not really that much difference.

As for the Rankin County Schools, they have honors programs called Venture, by oldest DS is in this class and it really is wonderful. If you would like more info on Rankin County Schools just go to www.rcsd.k12.ms.us and for more info on any of the schools in MS go to www.mde.k12.ms.us Brandon along with Madison are both Level 5 (Superior) schools which is the highest that a school can get. I don't think that you can go wrong with either location.

 

[gaelic grace]

One of the things that MS has actually been in the forefront of is supporting National http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directoryBoard Certification. The state actually provides a 6,000 dollar stipend for each of the 10 years of the certificate. For a state that ranks at the bottom as far as teacher salaries this is percentage wise a huge incentive. While there are lots of great teachers who aren't NBCTS and some who are that aren't that great- it is a good indicator of the schools support as a whole of ongoing professional development. The website is http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directory.
You can search by both school and district which will give you an idea of how many are certified and what their areas are. You can go to the MDE site and get alot of information about test scores, demographics etc., but you do have to know that MDE instituted new testing this year that was vastly different than previous years. The emphasis was largely on Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge. The scores for the schools will probably be vastly different from the 06-07 to 07-08 school year and it will be hard to draw comparisons. There is alot of speculation that a "hold harmless" clause will be implemented and that schools that drop will actually retain their levels for at least another year until the kinks are worked out. The school districts mentioned are all great. My husband is a public school administrator and I work part-time with professional development for schools. We have several great school districts around us education wise but the temperment of the schools vary widely. This will probably come down to personal comfort. Visit the schools - even in the summer you can get a good feel from administration and staff about the "vibe" of the school. Good luck- I know my husband would love to have more parents like you in his system!

 

[Terry36]

One of the things that MS has actually been in the forefront of is supporting National http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directoryBoard Certification. The state actually provides a 6,000 dollar stipend for each of the 10 years of the certificate. For a state that ranks at the bottom as far as teacher salaries this is percentage wise a huge incentive. While there are lots of great teachers who aren't NBCTS and some who are that aren't that great- it is a good indicator of the schools support as a whole of ongoing professional development. The website is http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directory.
You can search by both school and district which will give you an idea of how many are certified and what their areas are. You can go to the MDE site and get alot of information about test scores, demographics etc., but you do have to know that MDE instituted new testing this year that was vastly different than previous years. The emphasis was largely on Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge. The scores for the schools will probably be vastly different from the 06-07 to 07-08 school year and it will be hard to draw comparisons. There is alot of speculation that a "hold harmless" clause will be implemented and that schools that drop will actually retain their levels for at least another year until the kinks are worked out. The school districts mentioned are all great. My husband is a public school administrator and I work part-time with professional development for schools. We have several great school districts around us education wise but the temperment of the schools vary widely. This will probably come down to personal comfort. Visit the schools - even in the summer you can get a good feel from administration and staff about the "vibe" of the school. Good luck- I know my husband would love to have more parents like you in his system!

Thank you for this GREAT information! Yes I am very involved in DD's education. I love private schools but if I can place her in a public school of the same level I will!

 

[5Slays]

One of the things that MS has actually been in the forefront of is supporting National http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directoryBoard Certification. The state actually provides a 6,000 dollar stipend for each of the 10 years of the certificate. For a state that ranks at the bottom as far as teacher salaries this is percentage wise a huge incentive. While there are lots of great teachers who aren't NBCTS and some who are that aren't that great- it is a good indicator of the schools support as a whole of ongoing professional development. The website is http://www.nbpts.org/resources/nbct_directory.
You can search by both school and district which will give you an idea of how many are certified and what their areas are. You can go to the MDE site and get alot of information about test scores, demographics etc., but you do have to know that MDE instituted new testing this year that was vastly different than previous years. The emphasis was largely on Norman Webb's Depth of Knowledge. The scores for the schools will probably be vastly different from the 06-07 to 07-08 school year and it will be hard to draw comparisons. There is alot of speculation that a "hold harmless" clause will be implemented and that schools that drop will actually retain their levels for at least another year until the kinks are worked out. The school districts mentioned are all great. My husband is a public school administrator and I work part-time with professional development for schools. We have several great school districts around us education wise but the temperment of the schools vary widely. This will probably come down to personal comfort. Visit the schools - even in the summer you can get a good feel from administration and staff about the "vibe" of the school. Good luck- I know my husband would love to have more parents like you in his system!

This is some really great information.