High school students across Mississippi are already planning what they will do after graduation. MPB'S Alexandra Watts reports on what a school district in the Mississippi Delta is doing to help prepare students for life after high school.
Greenville Public School District is taking steps to make sure students succeed after they graduate.
In a partnership with Mississippi Valley State University, high school students can get dual credit for high school and college. The district also has clubs and resources available for students taking the ACT and hosts college nights for students.
Doctor Debra Dace is interim superintendent with the district and says the district is there for students to succeed after graduation – whether it’s going on to school or going on to a job.
“Not only do we offer those opportunities at the high school, but we also have our career and technical center," she said. "So if a student decides that he or she doesn’t want to attend college right off, that we build up some opportunities where they can seek employment immediately after finishing high school."
The district has a dropout rate of 22.2 percent -- twice the state rate, and Dace says the community is also playing a role in encouraging students about their future.
Get2College, a group that provides college prep and other educational resources, recently held an event at a local library focused on how the community can help students get ready for college.
Tori Langworthy is with Get 2 College.
“One thing we love that the schools do is they bring people in who have that information and just share it. Maybe community members can just start sharing their stories. We work with a lot of people who say, ‘Oh, I’m from the Mississippi Delta.’ I think it would be huge if people who grew up in the Mississippi Delta started sharing their experiences with high school students so they could see, ‘Okay, this is the path they took.’”
Students still have some time before applications are due to most colleges, but both Langworthy and Dace encourage students from all districts to not wait until the last minute.
