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Jackson Public Schools board approves corrective action plan as records team races to clear remaining accreditation standards
Summary
The Jackson Public School Board voted to approve a corrected action plan after administrators reported progress clearing state accreditation deficiencies; three standards — residency, immunizations and permanent records — remain and officials set a June 30, 2025 target contingent on state monitoring.
The Jackson Public School Board of Trustees voted to approve a corrective action plan for the 2024–25 school year after district officials reported steady progress clearing accreditation deficiencies identified by the Mississippi Department of Education.
Superintendent Eric Green told the board the district has cleared 39 standards and sub-standards since the 2016–17 investigative audit and is now working to clear three remaining standards tied to residency (standard 6.1), immunizations (standard 6.2) and permanent records (standard 8). "We are continuing to make progress in clearing the standards," Green said.
Deputy Superintendent Dr. Merritt and Chief Academic/Records staff described how the district reorganized duties and added personnel to accelerate the work. The records office has shifted responsibilities so office assistants share records tasks previously carried largely by a single records clerk; the board approved increased pay and an additional office assistant slot to improve retention. Retired staff and dedicated school-level teams have been assigned to review cumulative folders and permanent records, and central teams are auditing school records daily.
Dr. Strong and members of the records team walked trustees through the state monitoring process for cumulative folders. The district must produce two proofs of residency and a printed immunization form for each student, enter the address and phone on both the cumulative folder and the permanent record, and ensure withdrawal/transfer entries match when students move between schools. The district said the Mississippi Department of Education will sample roughly 15% of a school's enrollments during monitoring; a school may have at most five errors in the sample before MDE schedules a follow-up.
Officials said work already completed included closing Wingfield and other targeted efforts funded by the 2018 bond program. The district also reported that standard 16 — added last year — cleared after work on MAP testing integrity and monitoring.
Board members expressed strong support for the staff. Trustee Mr. Figgers moved to accept the corrective action plan; Dr. Harrison seconded. The motion carried with four ayes.
District staff set a goal to clear the remaining standards by June 30, 2025, but noted that achieving that target is contingent on MDE availability to conduct monitoring visits. The board was told central support will continue, including daily school-level teams stationed at Poindexter working alongside retirees and experienced staff to correct folders before monitoring occurs.
Ending: Trustees thanked the records team, school office staff and volunteers for the extra hours and work. Superintendent Green said the district will continue reporting progress to the board and the community as MDE monitoring proceeds.
