First Lady Michelle Obama gave kudos to the Starkville School District Wednesday for its efforts to improve the health of city students.

During a speech at Brinkley Middle School in Jackson, Obama encouraged students to pursue healthier lives and recognized the Starkville School District’s removal of deep fryers from school cafeterias as a step toward achieving that goal.

“Here in Mississippi, another thing that’s happened is that they’ve taken fryers out of the school and put in more ovens, right?” Obama said to a round of applause. “And just imagine, just because of that, in Starkville, two schools in that area, they’ve cut out about 3 million calories — 3 million calories — just by not having fried potatoes. Those are the kind of little things that make a difference.”

Although fryers actually were removed from three schools in the Starkville School District, not two, district officials were thrilled with Obama’s comments.

“It is quite an honor to be recognized for the effort,” district Director of Child Nutrition Beverly Lowry said. “And I think the fact that she said even the small things make a difference, I mean, when you look at french fries every day, the small things do add up. That’s a lot of calories.”

The fryers were removed from Starkville High School, Armstrong Middle School and Sudduth Elementary School, and replaced with combi ovens, which use steam, hot air, or a combination of both to prepare food. Costing about $35,000 per unit, the Starkville High School combi oven was paid for with a John D. Bower Foundation grant, while the ovens at Armstrong and Sudduth were paid for with district Child Nutrition Department funds, Lowry said.

Superintendent Judy Couey said the Starkville School District has made a concerted effort over the past three or four years to improve the health of its students.

“We want to continue that with all of our schools,” Couey said. “That’s something we want to keep focusing on. The workers in our school cafeterias do an excellent job. The food is really appealing. It looks good, it tastes good and it’s good for you.”

Obama’s announcement came on the same day the Starkville High School boys basketball team beat Biloxi High School 66-51 in the Mississippi High School Activities Association state tournament semifinal and advanced to the championship game against Meridian High School.

“It was a big day,” Couey said. “We were winning in the ‘The Big House’ and then we got the shout-out.”

Starkville Mayor Parker Wiseman Thursday commended the Starkville School District for improving the health of its students and drawing the attention of Michelle Obama.

“First of all, it’s a sign that something really good is happening in our school lunch program,” Wiseman said. “Second, it’s always nice to be mentioned in a flattering way by the First Lady of the United States. It’s exciting. It bodes very well for our community and our school system.”

A full transcript of Obama’s speech can be found on the Starkville School District Web site: www.starkville.k12.ms.us.

Tim Pratt is based in the Dispatch’s Starkville Bureau. His e-mail address is tpratt@cdispatch.com.

 
Veteran Starkville Teacher Amy Ellis is honored by the Missisippi Board of Education as a recipient of the Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) during a reception Friday in Jackson. ”The Presidential Award for Mathematics and Science Teaching is an esteemed honor that validates my studies and further strengthens my commitment to help fellow colleagues and students teach and learn through best practices,” said Ellis who was selected as a Presidential Awarde e by President Barack Obama.

“This honor invigorates my passion to teach math for understanding. I feel this award will help me reach and encourage more teachers to develop sound pedagogy that will significantly impact student learning.”

 The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching are the Nation’s highest honors for teachers of mathematics and science. The Awards recognize outstanding K-12 teachers for their contributions in the classroom and to their profession.

Ellis has taught first grade at Sudduth Elementary School since 1997 and began her teaching career in the Starkville School District in 1993. A member of the district’s Math Leadership Team, Ms. Ellis has held several leadership positions, which currently include Elementary Vice President on the Mississippi Council of Teachers of Mathematics. She also served on the Mississippi Mathematics Framework Team, which reviewed and revised the 2000 framework.

Ms. Ellis’s approach to mathematics makes her students excited about learning and eager to try new concepts. She creates a learning environment where every student is actively involved in his or her learning. Her classroom is arranged so that students can work cooperatively using hands-on activities and manipulatives. One technique she employs is to have students write down how they solved a particular problem. Ms. Ellis prompts students and probes their responses until they can explain their reasoning process.

She tutors students during her planning periods and after school. A thankful parent described Ms. Ellis as the best teacher she has ever known. The parent noted that Ms. Ellis spent six weeks working early in the morning and after school with a student who had an auditory processing deficit. The results led to an assessment and enabled the student to receive therapy.

Outside the classroom, Ms. Ellis has helped pilot a model inclusion program, cofacilitated a Math Their Way summer workshop for all kindergarten through second grade teachers, written grants to purchase and use manipulatives for classroom instruction and to purchase supplemental mathematics-related literature books, implemented a Math Night for parents regarding hands-on instruction and helping children understand mathematics concepts, and implemented a weekly planning session focusing on mathematics instruction for teachers within the school.

Ms. Ellis was Sudduth Teacher of the Year in 1998 and 2000. In 2000 she was named the Starkville School District Teacher of the Year.

Ms. Ellis has a B.S. and an M.S. in elementary education from Mississippi State University. She is National Board Certified as an Early Childhood Generalist.

 

The Starkville School District won top honors for the Parents for Public Schools newspaper ad campaign promoting Starkville’s public schools. SSD was awarded first place honors during the Mississippi School Public Relations Association’s Annual Awards Luncheon on Friday in Jackson.

The eight-week campaign which began in March featured SSD students and alumni and showcased the numerous areas where SSD excels.

“This campaign would not have been possible without the financial support of PPS,” said SSD Public Information Officer Nicole Thomas. “PPS has always recognized the importance of marketing in public education, and they have always supported the efforts of the Starkville School District,” Thomas added.

PPS members have also offered their talents individually to contribute to the success of SSD’s marketing strategy. Kathy Marcum, PPS member, SSD parent, and talented graphic design artist, worked with SSD to create the ads.

The judges’ comments included:

• Creative concept.
• Effective use of blending academics and arts together.
• I want to know more about this district!
• Very effective.
• Good information and creativity in use of alumni.
• I love the concept of parent comments about their child’s school as a marketing tool.
• Having the invite for open house come from parents is effective use of concept.

The Starkville School District was also recognized as a 1st place award winner in the audio/visual category for “Believe,” a 4 minute video in which teachers and students appeal to each member of the Starkville School District and the Starkville community to believe in, lean on, respect and encourage one another.

The video was a collaborative effort between the Starkville School District and Broadcast Media Group, a Starkville-based production company and a friend of the Starkville School District.

Believe in the Starkville School District. Believe in their teachers and students. Believe in your child and your child’s classmates. Believe every single one can and will graduate. Believe in the Starkville community.

Believe is the theme for the 2009-2010 school year and the title of a new video created to motivate and inspire teachers, students, administrators, parents and the Starkville community.

Watch the video and “believe”.

Starkville, MS School District  “Believe”

You and your family are invited to show students, teachers, administrators and parents how much you appreciate their hard work!  (Read more)

Thank You, Starkville !

The passage of the school bond issue last week marked a great day for the Starkville School District and the entire Starkville community.  The Starkville School District has long been considered a pacesetter in education, and Tuesday was no exception.  With 66.7% of voters casting ballots in favor of the $26.5 million school bond issue, Starkville voters sent a strong message of support for public education, and I am certain the rest of Mississippi heard us loud and clear. (Read more)