Welcome to Southern Echo. Here we invite you to learn who we are, what we do, and why we do it. We work hard to provide our visitors with the information, data and challenging analyses that bring to life the key public policy issues facing our communities. Learn about the communities and organizations with whom we partner to achieve our goals, stay up-to-date with our work, and find out how you can get involved or support our work whether you live in the Delta or on the other side of the world. Our continued success not only strengthens our own communities, but the larger world community in which we all live.
Let us know how we can improve the site and what additions you might like to see. Visit often, check out the photos and videos from our events, and keep up with the news below. We're looking forward to working with you. As always, we are proud to work for you.
Echo Releases New Maps Education Accountability Model
January 26th, 2012
Southern Echo recently released a new batch of maps on Mississippi’s Education Accountability Model. These maps depict data provided by the MS Dept. of Education concerning the Education Accountability Model. These maps show the Accountability Status assigned to each school district, the Quality Distribution Index (QDI) score assigned to each district, whether each district met Growth Goals, district Graduation Rates, and proficiency in math and reading for high school, 8th grade, and 4th grade students.
You may access the maps by clicking here.
Echo Releases Map Depicting Incidents of Corporal Punishment
January 19th, 2012
Southern Echo released a color coded map illustrating the changes by school district from the 2009-2010 school year to the 2010-2011 school year in the use of corporal punishment – i.e. the number of occasions on which teachers or administrators beat students with a hard instrument.
For each district that provided data to the MS Dept. of Education we have color-coded the data for 09-10 and 10-11 on the map. We have also shown on the map the difference in the number of student beatings from 09-10 to 10-11. Overall 67 districts reported a decrease in the number of student beatings from 09-10 to 10-11. Overall 33 districts reported an increase in the number of student beatings from 09-10 to 10-11.
Echo’s Director Chosen as MVSU’s Ayers Distinguished Lecturer
January 17th, 2012
MVSU’s Delta Research & Cultural Institute’s Ayers Distinguished Visiting Lecture Series for Spring 2012 will feature Mr. Leroy Johnson, Executive Director, Southern Echo, Inc.
The focus of the Spring 2012 Visiting Lecture Series is: The Political Economy of Public Education in the Mississippi Delta
The series begins this evening Tuesday evening (1/17/2012) at 6:00 p.m. in the presentation hall of DRCI, located in Administrative Annex I on the campus of MVSU. All lectures are free and open to both the campus community and the general public.
The respective dates and topics for Mr. Johnson’s lectures for this series are:
A. Tuesday, 1/17/2012: The Political History of Public Education in Mississippi: 1890 - 2011
B. Tuesday, 2/08/2012: Public Education Budgets as Public Education Policy
C. Tuesday, 2/28/2012: The Dilemma of Critical Teacher Shortages in the Delta: 1980 - 2011
D. Tuesday, 3/21/2012: MS Department of Education (MDE), School Take-overs, & School Rankings in the Delta.
E. Tuesday, 4/10/2012: Where Do Go From Here? Developing a 1st Rate 21st Century Quality Education
* Note: Plans are unfolding to confirm the locations of lectures B, C & D. We expect that these sessions will be held in selected communties around the Delta, thus allowing us to directly reach a public audience that is most impacted by rural public policies related to the education of youth across the region.
For more information, please contact DRCI at: 662-254-3794, or e-mail: gdbneal@mvsu.edu.
Echo Releases First of Maps on Newly Released MS School Data
September 28th, 2011
Southern Echo is releasing the first in a series of maps that makes visually accessible the complex 2011 data approved by the State Board of Education on Friday, September 16, 2011 regarding School District Accountability Rankings, Quality Distribution Index scores, Graduation rates, and other data.
The attached color-coded maps and tables illustrate the Rankings, QDI scores and Graduation Rate percentages; QDI scores for 2009-2011 with the 2011 accountability ranking; and Graduation Rate percentages for 2009-2001 with accountability rankings in each of the 152 school districts. We also show how many districts are included in each rank and the percentage of the whole that each rank represents.
Please Note: In January 2011, according to State Supt. of Education Tom Burnham, the State Board of Education voted to eliminate the “At Risk of Failing” ranking category for school districts and schools.
Therefore, the ranking system now includes from highest rank to lowest rank: Star, High Performing, Successful, Academic Watch, Low Performing and Failing.
Click here to access the webpage containing the maps and chart.
