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Board reviews renewal of dual-enrollment and NEON course partnerships that served ~600 scholars since 2021
Summary
Jackson Public School District presented a renewal MOU with Hinds Community College and described a continuing partnership with NEON (formerly the Equity Lab) offering online, college-credit courses; administrators reported about 600 scholars have taken NEON courses since 2021 and 39% were first-generation college attendees.
The board reviewed a renewal memorandum of understanding with Hinds Community College for dual-credit and dual-enrollment courses for the 2026–2027 school year and also heard about the district’s partnership with NEON (National Education Opportunity Network), which connects high school courses with college credit from partner institutions.
Dr. Marsha Thomas said the dual-enrollment and NEON programs offer structured pathways to postsecondary credits and said since 2021 about 600 Jackson Public Schools scholars have participated in NEON courses. She provided participant demographics: roughly 39 percent of participating students were first in their families to attend college, about 75 percent were female, and 95 percent took courses in 11th or 12th grade. The district described the program as grant-funded; students cover a $250 registration fee while the rest of the program is grant-supported.
Thomas listed example courses offered through the partnership, including "Poetry in America," Introduction to Cloud Computing (an Amazon Web Services course), "Introduction to Sociology," Georgetown’s "Map to the Modern World," and other university-hosted offerings. She said some NEON courses may transfer as college credit and that the district verifies transferability with receiving colleges on a case-by-case basis.
The board voted to approve the renewal MOU and praised the program’s potential to increase college access for first-generation scholars.
