• Episode 8: 100 Years of CTE

  September 1, 2017 In this episode, we look back at the foundations of CTE and how it has maintained its roots in agriculture while broadening to fields such as engineering, health sciences, marketing, and more. We also take a look at the next phase of CTE Testing in Mississippi. Finally, we mention updates to our free CTE promotional toolkit and ways to get your students featured in the Connections magazine.

• Episode 7: Corinth's Modified School Calendar

  August 1, 2017 This episode takes a look at the Corinth School District and their quest to think outside the box and redesign their school calendar. Corinth just completed their first year under this modified calendar, and early results look promising. We talk to educators about why they decided to change the structure of the school year, the major challenges they confronted, and how the modified calendar was greeted by students, parents, and teachers.

• Episode 6: Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidation

  July 5, 2017 In this episode, we explore a hot topic in the Mississippi education world: school consolidation. In recent years, the Mississippi legislature has required districts across the state to consolidate and pool resources in order to create a more efficient new district and, hopefully, boost outcomes for students. In order to examine this issue, we take a close look at how the consolidation process played out in a district that has already completed the process: the Starkville-Oktibbeha Consolidated School District.

• Episode 5: Impact Learning

  June 1, 2017 Impact Learning is a network of schools and districts dedicated to instituting personalized, student-centered learning. This network encompasses a variety of tools and programs, including career academies, Coach University, Districts of Innovation, early college high schools, High Performance Leadership Institute, and innovation and acceleration strategies.

• Episode 4: Vicksburg Advisory Classes

  May 1, 2017 In this episode, we explore advisory classes - an innovative, holistic approach Vicksburg Warren School District is piloting to curb the high school dropout rate. We interview Lucy DeRossette, director of innovative programs in the Vicksburg Warren School District; Eric Green, principal of Warren Central High School; and Susan Stanton, instructor at Warren Central High School.

• Episode 3: Career Academies

  April 7, 2017 More and more schools in the Magnolia State are incorporating career academies into their high schools. This unique educational model connects the classroom to real-world experience. Tune in to learn how career academies are impacting students by working in conjunction with career and technical education.

• Episode 2: Computer Science for Mississippi- Part 2

  March 8, 2017 What happened after the CS4MS pilot program made it out of the theoretical stage and into Mississippi’s classrooms? We speak with elementary and high school teachers across Mississippi to find out what their computer science classes look like and how their students are responding to CS4MS.

• Episode 1: Computer Science for Mississippi- Part 1

  March 8, 2017 In our inaugural episode, we explore Mississippi’s new computer science pilot program that aims to introduce students to subjects ranging from robotics to coding. We talk to the founder of Kids Code Mississippi, Randy Lynn, and RCU project manager, Shelly Hollis, about how the Computer Science for Mississippi (CS4MS) project was jumpstarted and its potential impact on both students and the state of Mississippi.

Kristen Dechert
Project Manager
662.325.2510
kristen.dechert@rcu.msstate.edu