By Tony Fields
Some Natchez-Adams School District Certified Employees will have a little extra to splurge with this year on Black Friday. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) School Recognition Program will award eligible staff for their efforts in school accountability ratings from the 2017-2018 school year. $24,992,201 was appropriated for the program as authorized in Miss. Code 37-19-10.
In order for a school to be eligible, MDE has detailed how the gross award amount will be calculated for that school:
Some Natchez-Adams School District Certified Employees will have a little extra to splurge with this year on Black Friday. The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) School Recognition Program will award eligible staff for their efforts in school accountability ratings from the 2017-2018 school year. $24,992,201 was appropriated for the program as authorized in Miss. Code 37-19-10.
In order for a school to be eligible, MDE has detailed how the gross award amount will be calculated for that school:
- Schools will receive an award of $100 per ADA at that school if the 2017-2018 Accountability Ratings were an “A”; or,
- Schools will receive an award of $75 per ADA at that school if the 2017-2018 Accountability Ratings were a “B”; or,
- Schools will receive an award of $100 per ADA at a school if the 2017-2018 Accountability Rating improved from an “F” to a “D”, from a “D” to a “C” or from a “C” to a “B”.
For eligible teachers and staff, MDE provided districts with the following criteria: - The award shall be paid to the current staff of the eligible school. There is no requirement to pay any portion of the award to staff who have left that school or employment in the district.
- Eligible staff shall include all certified employees who are required to hold
a license issued by the MDE, such as teachers, counselors, librarians, instructional coaches, etc. - The award will be evenly distributed to all eligible staff.
- Staff from Alternative Schools, Career and Technical Education Centers, and Early College locations should be included for eligibility. (The ADA for those locations have also been added to those schools for the calculation.)
- Awards may not be paid to Administrators or Principals.
Three Natchez-Adams School District Schools have been awarded for their 2017-2018 Accountability Ratings. Frazier Elementary has been awarded a gross amount of $48,638 for an improved accountability rating from a “D” to a “C”. For their perennial “B” statuses, McLaurin Elementary has been awarded $40,246 and Natchez Early College @ Co-Lin with $11,418 before taxes.
A sincere thanks go to all of the school personnel, stakeholders, parents, and especially the students who made these awards possible. Thank you to MDE and all supporters who made the commitment to fund this well-deserved incentive.