Miss. Holmes County High School Jekiria Jefferson reached up to grab the oversized glittering jeweled crown that was slipping from her head as her maroon and white float rolled down the street beneath the shining sun one cool afternoon in October, a perfect day to celebrate homecoming. Dressed in a cream pantsuit—a change from the white gown with a crystal bodice, layered skirt and long train that she had worn for her coronation the night before—she turned and smiled at a photographer.
A crowd of parents and community members lined the streets where nearby children waited for a treat from the box filled with assorted candy that she had at her feet. She smiled brightly at the crowd as a line of cars with students seated on hoods and in sunroofs continued down the Homecoming parade route.
HCCSD has had a lot to celebrate lately. Three years after the Mississippi Department of Education took over the district, it achieved an overall B rating for the first time in school history, with 70% of the district’s schools earning a B rating, including all of its elementary schools.
“Those are tremendous gains, and in two areas, we have exceeded the state average,” Wilson said. “So we are moving the needle. We still got a lot of work to do.”
@media ( min-width: 300px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 99px;}}@media ( min-width: 320px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 99px;}}@media ( min-width: 728px ){.newspack_global_ad.scaip-1{min-height: 90px;}} A History of Systemic Inequity
The Holmes County Consolidated School District, based in Lexington, Miss., now covers all of Holmes County, but it did not begin that way. In 2018, the Mississippi Legislature voted to consolidate the Durant School District and the Holmes County School District. Neither district was in favor of the move, which state lawmakers said was fiscally necessary. The consolidation closed Durant, J.J McClain, S.V. Marshall and Williams-Sullivan high schools, leaving Holmes County Central as the only active high school in the county.
Miss Holmes County Central High School Jekiria Jefferson (left) and Mr. Holmes County Central High School Shevy Jefferson, Jr.,
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