George Elementary, an inner-city school within the Jackson Public School District, has many challenges and needs. George has a population of approximately 280 students and a staff that consists of 11 certified teachers, 9 classified staff members and 2 office clerks, 11 resource persons: counselor, librarian, literacy coach, interventionist, music teacher, speech teacher, gifted teacher and 3 custodians. George is located in the Battlefield Park Community on the corner of Gallatin and Winter Street and many of our students qualify for free and reduced lunch.

Here at George, the land of the Mighty Jaguars, standards are high, expectations are high, morale is high, but it is our community partnership goals, vision, mission and culture that allow us to continuously reach toward being the best. In each classroom our daily morning routine is for each student to state this motivational quote: “We are the best, the very best and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.” For each month students are selected to report to the office to recite the poem “Myself” by Edgar A. Guess, which is another inspirational tool used to build self-confidence.

The George Elementary family believes that location has no barriers, single-parent homes have no barriers, qualifying for free and reduced lunch is no barrier and working minimum wage jobs is no barrier for improving academic excellence for our students. Therefore, our students deserve administrators, teachers, support staff, volunteers and a community that’s caring, supportive, dedicated, competent and knowledgeable. For the 2010-11 academic school year, George Elementary still faces its challenges, but is successfully ranked as a STAR school in JPS.

Duration of partnerships: 25 years – Fondren Presbyterian; 15 years – HCSD, Colonial Heights
1,345 volunteers
Impacts 280 Students

Activities: Partners help plan activities to increase community involvement such as Level Five Celebration and Star School Parade. Annual activities enhance bonding between school and community, such as “Women Empowering Girls” and “Men Empowering Boys” breakfasts. Volunteers assist students in absence of a parent. Other activities include Read Across America Day, Dr. Seuss’ Birthday, Celebrity Readers Day, Reading is Not a Trick, It’s a Treat Day, Book Nic, Dr. Martin Luther King Day and Kindergarten and Fifth Grade Promotion Exercise. Incentives provided for students on president’s list and honor roll. Volunteers are mentors, Book Buddies.

Results: Outstanding gains in academic excellence in last 7 years in weekly assessments, District Nine Weeks Test and Mississippi Curriculum Test Scores. 2010 MCT2 data for three-year grade level comparisons show marked improvements in language arts and math for 3^rd, 4^th and 5^th graders, with George Elementary’s averages outperforming state and district averages almost every year.