Jackson Public Schools highlights Freedom Schools, 68 summer graduates and Brinkley Middle opening

Jackson Public School District Superintendent Dr. Green told trustees the district celebrated 68 scholars who completed summer programs and earned diplomas and that more than 1,000 scholars participated across 11 summer offerings.

The superintendent opened his remarks with a video of instructional highlights and thanked staff and community partners. "We're proud to share that 68 JPS scholars successfully completed the summer program and earned their diplomas," Dr. Green said, thanking families and team members who supported the effort.

Chelsea Hearn Page, a 2nd-grade teacher at John Hopkins Elementary who served as site coordinator for the Freedom Schools summer program at North Jackson Elementary, outlined the program model. She described Freedom Schools as a high-quality literacy-enrichment program that uses an integrated reading curriculum (IRC), begins each morning with Harambee (a community-building gathering), and pairs lessons with cooperative group work, social-action projects and weekly field trips. "Freedom School focuses on connecting the needs of children, youth, and families to the appropriate resources in the community," she said.

Program leaders said Freedom Schools provides books scholars take home weekly, emphasizes civic engagement and leadership, and includes restorative practices such as a first-time drug policy education program introduced in November 2025 and first implemented in January 2026. Dr. Green said those restorative elements are intended to keep scholars engaged in learning while offering accountability and support.

Dr. Green also announced the grand opening of the renovated Brinkley Middle School (formerly Powell Middle School) and invited the public to a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, July 27. He described the facility as "bright" and "welcoming," with a handful of finishing landscaping items still to complete.

On accountability, Dr. Green warned trustees that the Mississippi Department of Education raised the state's accountability cut scores for the 2026–27 model, which could change letter grades for schools and districts even if student performance stayed the same. He said the district has begun preliminary data review but that final public reporting will wait until the state clears the data for release. "We'll share additional information with the board and with the community once we receive all of the data and we've been cleared by the MDE to share that information publicly," he said.

The superintendent closed by thanking board members and staff for their summer work preparing for the school year, noting the district's goal to "open with excellence" when scholars return for the first day of school on July 29.

Next steps: the district said it will continue reviewing assessment data as it becomes available and will provide a public update once MDE clearance is received.