Who doesn’t love a great celebration, and parade?
Floats, familiar faces and waving hands were all a part of the celebration that took place this past Monday.
However, the celebration and parade convey a different emotion than those that took place before it.
The news of the Sunflower County Consolidated School District receiving a Successful rating for 2018-19 school year is certainly cause for a special celebration and it is news that the community as a whole should enjoy but it is especially special for the kids, faculty, administrators and staff members whose hard work and grit made it possible.
Recently, I listened to a conversation between Michelle Obama and Tracie Ellis Ross.
Obama proclaimed that kids know when they are being invested in, when people believe in them and when people care about them.
I believe this is very apparent for the children in our district.
In spite of many obstacles, such as an underfunded public school system, dealing with a teacher shortage crisis that is affecting Mississippi as a whole - especially the Delta - and day-to-day personal battles, our kids still prevail.
I believe this is a testament to what can be done if work, time and effort are poured into the youth.
They have to know that they are being invested in.
A simple, “I’m proud of you” could go a long way.
The many faces I saw during the celebration were the perfect embodiment of that. Reflecting on the district’s recent success, I can only hope for more gains and that “the marathon continues.”
Jyesha Johnson is The E-T’s multimedia coordinator. She is a graduate of Gentry High School and The University of Mississippi.
