Students Collect Cans For Ministry

Superintendent Kim Chrestman gives his report.

WATER VALLEY – The “Cans for a Cause” project was a huge success at Davidson Elementary School, collecting 2,152 cans, Superintendent Kim Chrestman told school district trustees at their meeting last Thursday.  
“Our community has provided unopened, unexpired and non-perishable canned food items to the school to be donated to Water Valley’s Compassion Food Min-istries,” Chrestman said during his Superintendent’s Report.
The classes collecting the most cans were Mrs. Ray’s with 324, Mrs. Norwood’s with 222, and Mrs. Edwards with 160. The superintendent congratulated the students and thanked the community for their support.
Also in his report was the latest poverty figure, which is now 74 percent of the student population of the district. The figure is based on the number of students eligible for free or reduced rate meals.
“Based upon this poverty information, the WVSD eligibility rate for E-Rate Services is at 86 percent,” Chrestman said, “and may qualify for additional technology related to telecommunications and school district.
E-Rate is the commonly used name for the Schools and Libraries Program of the Universal Service Fund administered by the FCC. The program provides discounts to assist most schools and libraries in the United States to obtain affordable telecommunications and Internet access.
Chrestman also reported that attendance for the first three months fell short of the district goal of 96 percent.  The district average is 95.03 percent. “Davidson Elemen-tary is very close to the 96% goal, while the Water Valley High School is close to 94%,” he said.

Fall Semester Highlights
Chrestman told trustees that the project to provide a new roof, new guttering, dropped/insulated ceilings and new energy efficient lighting at the high school and junior high buildings had been completed.
The work was done under the qualified school construction bond (QSCB) program created under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that allows schools to borrow at nominal or zero percent for the rehabilitation, repair and equipping of their facilities.
Other semester highlight included:
• Resurfacing of the DES parking lot by Yalobusha County Supervisors. At the same time, an area near the junior high school and central office was also resurfaced.
• Continuation of the DES “Good Character Breakfasts” for the Star Student from each class and their parents. Each class teacher chooses one “Good Character of the Month” (Star Student).
• Selection of DES teacher Lauren Burgess to participate in a Blue Cross-Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation meeting for physical education professionals.  
Chrestman explained that this was an invitation only meeting and provided a payment for her time and travel and physical education equipment worth $500.  
• The DES Fall Festival. The superintendent said that even with the rainy weather approximately $7,000 was raised for the school.  
• The undefeated season for the Blue Devil 8th grade football team and the 8th grade girl’s basketball team. They both went 8-0 on the season.
• Participation by the Blue Devil high school football team in three state playoff games after winning the Division II-3A Champion-ship for 2011.
• Winning the “Rock the Schoolhouse” challenge.  Chrestman said the WVHS Student Council submitted a project for the flagpole/tower area to turn the current unmanageable green space into a much more manageable hardscape.  
• Incorporating guest speakers and active demonstrations into the DES library program to enhance the students’ knowledge of subjects they are reading about.  
Speakers and activities included visits by firemen, policemen, an ambulance crew, nurses, emergency medical technicians, 4-H representatives and students from Ole Miss.  
• Receiving the Career Readiness Grant from the Appalachian Region Com-mission (ARC) to provide funding for three state-of-the-art computer labs and an upgrade to the Local Area Network. This grant provides $192,232 in funds.
• Receiving an ARC health and nutrition grant that provided funding for DES students in grades 3 through 5 to take field trips to the HealthWorks! exhibit in Tupelo.
• Hosting a community supported “thank you” steak lunch at DES for all district employees.
• Participating in a pilot leadership program designed for middle-through-high school leaders by the High Performance Leadership Institute at Mississippi State University.
According to Chrestman, participants explore future educational options like state board exams where students can exit with a diploma after two, or maybe three years.
Other options include career academies, Career Pathway diplomas, International Baccalaureate diploma options, dual enrollment, online learning, and early-middle college experiences.