Contact: Emile Creel

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Online and print versions of a new publication covering Mississippi’s public schools now are available statewide.

“School Focus” recently was created to highlight accomplishments of teachers and students and will be published each fall and spring for educators, government officials and others working to advance K-12 education.

The full-color magazine is produced for the Mississippi Department of Education by the Research and Curriculum Unit at Mississippi State.

Established at the university in 1965, the RCU helps carry out the 138-year-old land-grant institution’s primary missions of learning, research and service. For complete information, visit rcu.msstate.edu.

Kim Benton, MDE chief academic officer and “School Focus” editor, said the magazine’s purpose is “to share the great news from our schools because that is where the real change happens for our boys and girls across the state.

“I believe these stories prove we are well on our way to higher achievement,” she added.

Among fall-issue inclusions are a report on an innovative computer science pilot program, a peek inside an elementary teacher’s desk and a special section on the state’s educational standards.

Kristen Dechert, the RCU’s communication, research and evaluation supervisor, said every school district in the state has a success story.

Whether it be an educator, student or particular program, “we hope this magazine can bring awareness to and celebrate those stories while also challenging educators to try new things and reach across district lines for ideas and support,” Dechert said.

She also said “School Focus” has been designed to complement “Connections,” an established magazine dealing primarily with high-school level career and technical education.

“Together, the two tell a powerful story of public education in Mississippi by highlighting students on the path to college and career readiness and the schools and educators who prepare them,” Dechert said.

Online versions of both magazines may be read at rcu.msstate.edu/research/publications.

For more information on the RCU and its work, contact Emile Creel at emile.creel@rcu.msstate.edu.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.