The Sunflower County Consolidated School District is truly the exception.
In more ways than one.
Last Friday, the district cut two ribbons at Gentry High School and Thomas E. Edwards Sr. High School in Ruleville, respectively.
The two massive renovation projects, which total over $30 million invested in those locations alone have resulted in basically two brand new high schools for the district.
To make the moments sweeter last week, those ribbons were cut at two B-rated high schools. This is the first time in modern history that Gentry and Edwards have been rated a B or higher.
The district has come a long way in the past seven years. It was early in 2017 when the SCCSD board of trustees hired Dr. Miskia Davis to head the county’s schools in a district that was rated F at the time.
Davis and her staff have slowly brought SCCSD from failing to a B rating.
There is not a single failing school in the district, and the schools are collectively growing toward an A.
When the district rose to a Successful or C rating back in 2019, SCCSD started to use the hashtag #Winning. Today, the hashtag is #TheException.
Simply put, there are not a lot of districts in this region that have made the strides SCCSD has.
While some would argue that post-COVID grade inflation may be responsible for some of the boost in numbers, it is well documented that the district had started gaining momentum long before the pandemic shut down in-person learning and upended public education.
As mentioned above, the district was first named Successful during the 2019-20 school year.
Despite the challenges that came from the pandemic, the district in 2021 called for a $31 million bond to renovate its two high schools.
It had been decades since the north or the south ends of the county had benefited from a major investment by taxpayers in the form of a bond, and it showed in all of the facilities.
Gentry, specifically, was a nightmare for students.
The grounds were known for floods during downpours, and the exterior nature of the school at the time caused students to have to wade through water when they changed classes.
That is no longer the case.
Edwards now has a state-of-the-art facility in the small town of Ruleville, with brand new classrooms located in well-lit hallways.
These are two high schools the county should be proud to call their own.
And yet, very few people outside of the district’s inner circle attended last week’s ribbon cutting.
The district advertised the event repeatedly on Facebook and in this newspaper for weeks ahead of time.
The money spent to improve the district’s schools in the last three years probably could pave all of Indianola’s streets twice over. That’s how massive this project was.
It is no secret that SCCSD has not always been popular over the past seven years.
In fact, two board members lost their seats last year, even as academics and facilities improved.
The district made the decision to close two of its most rural elementary schools, causing an uproar in 2022.
The district had a public breakup with Delta Health Alliance last spring. DHA ran a number of programs in the district, including the Early Learning Collaborative.
There are those who believe security could be better at the high schools.
Some think that the superintendent, Dr. Miskia Davis, should live in Sunflower County instead of neighboring Washington County.
Regardless of whatever beef folks might have with the district and its leadership, its academic standing and massive investment in facilities should be celebrated.
Not only that, those accomplishments should be front and center in any marketing campaign the county and its municipalities might have to push business and population growth here.
With horrid streets, rising crime and an out-of-control litter problem in all of our communities, we need to accentuate any positives that we have.
Most business communities in our region would give anything to have our renovated high schools and our A-rated elementary schools to market to industries and families.
SCCSD has proven itself to be “The Exception” in both academics and facilities.
They should be commended, not ignored.
