The Power of Community

The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science and Mississippi University for Women have long been entwined.

From establishing and piloting the state’s first dual-credit and dual-enrollment programs to making news with the announcement of the Power of Six Scholarship, dedicated to six inaugural faculty members of MSMS who were graduates of The W, the two entities have had a longstanding partnership that has brought the campus and community together.

Thirty-six years later, Emma Richardson, one of the gifted school’s original faculty members and author of “A History of The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science,” provided a brief history about the school and her stroke of luck in the summer of 1988.

“I was in the right place at the right time. Boy, was I in the right place at the right time to be able to teach English at MSMS,” said Richardson. “Johnny Franklin (first MSMS director) was hiring faculty at the time my husband accepted the position as head of the Humanities Division at The W; Tom and I came to Columbus to look for a house, I interviewed with Mr. Franklin, and on July 5th, the school opened for teachers and staff.”

During that summer, faculty gathered and started working on the curriculum–deciding what courses would be taught, ordering books, establishing expectations–and classes began the day after Labor Day.

Richardson said a lot of the hard work, though, took place before she and her husband moved to Columbus from North Carolina.

“The beginning of the school can be traced to the efforts of Governor William Winter and the Mississippi Education Reform Act (MERA),” she said. In 1980, when Winter was elected, Mississippi was the poorest state in the nation and seemed likely to stay in that position unless education changes were enacted.

“The issue that occupied much of Winter’s term was passage of MERA, an act, that among other things, provided kindergartens for Mississippi children and enacted comprehensive attendance laws in the state for the first time since they had been voided after Brown vs. Board of Education.”

Richardson explained, “An indication of how intransigent was the climate for political and educational change in the early 1980s, bills for the Education Reform Act were defeated three times before Governor Winter called the Legislature into special session in December 1982. In what is called ‘the Christmas Miracle of 1982,’ the Mississippi Education Reform Act was signed into law.”

According to Richardson, Winter’s advocacy for the Education Reform Act included visits to other states, including North Carolina, where he learned about two state-supported projects in gifted education. The first was the North Carolina Governor’s School, a state-funded residential summer program for gifted students, and the second, the newly created North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics in Durham, which Governor Winter toured.

“Impressed by what he saw, Governor Winter discussed the possibility of founding a similar school in Mississippi with his education adviser, Andy Mullins, as well as with legislators and business and education leaders. Advocates of educational reform took up the intensive work to create what would become MSMS,” said Richardson.

Richardson credits W administrators and faculty for the crucial work in creating MSMS.

In 1981, Gov. Winter along with W administration established the Mississippi Governor’s School as a residential honors program. The pilot program ran from June 7-27, 1981, and over 150 students from across the state attended. The program is in its 43rd year on The W’s campus.

Dr. Guy Rose, head of the Division of Education and Human Sciences at The W and first director of the Mississippi Governor’s School, another strong proponent of progressive education, wrote the “rationale statement” supporting the establishment of MSMS.

Richardson explained that “Strobel [then] authorized the director of the MUW Center for Gifted and Talented and its faculty to write what would become the ‘Proposal for the Creation of the Mississippi School for Math, Science and Visual and Performing Arts.’ This 68-page document, [was] dated 19 December 1983.”

Over the next year, efforts to create MSMS made headlines in the state, and in 1984 the Senate Education Committee approved legislation to establish the school on The W’s campus, according to Richardson’s writings. Unfortunately, questions about budget, the school’s name and who would govern the school led to newly elected Gov. Bill Allain’s vetoing the bill because he was concerned that “higher education officials’ presence on the board violated constitutional guidelines.” Three months later Dr. Di Ann Lewis, associate professor of education at The W, was appointed to an eight-member committee that would develop the plan to create the school.

Almost 160 pages, the plan entitled, “The Mississippi School for Math and Science: A Plan Submitted to the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning,” was submitted to the IHL Board in December 1984. Bills introduced were again met with opposition, including concerns about the cost and complaints that “the school is another effort to keep MUW open.” Rep. Bruce Hanson contended the school was an investment in gifted education that would impact the state for years to come. Gov. Allain, however, vetoed the bill a second time.

Richardson said Dr. Lewis maintained a purpose of the school was to address the “extreme shortage of qualified mathematics and science teachers.”

“No bills to create MSMS were introduced in the Mississippi Legislature in 1986, but much was going on behind the scenes. By Feb. 3, 1987, of the legislative session, the House Universities and Colleges Committee had approved a bill to create the math and science school on the MUW campus, and, significantly, news articles began to reference the vital role that the Lowndes County Board of Supervisors would play in the ultimate creation of MSMS,” Richardson recounted. “Led by Harold Blalock, the Board was ‘committed to providing $1.5 million to renovate buildings’ on the MUW campus for the use of the math and science school.” Eventually, the bill stated the State Board of Education would oversee the school, and admissions language was adopted to ensure the school’s student population represented the state’s general population.

According to Richardson, “On 2 April 1987, the bill creating the Mississippi School for Math and Science was signed into law by Governor Bill Allain. About MSMS, Representative Glenn Shumake, longtime and ardent supporter, declared, ‘All Mississippi can be proud of it.’”

Almost 40 years later, MSMS continues to be a point of pride for the state and “a hub of innovation.”

Richardson said, “The vast majority of the students who go to MSMS are hungry for a challenge, for a rigorous academic education. Their two years at MSMS put them on a pathway for success not only in college but also for success as they go on to graduate and professional programs vital for the careers they enter. MSMS students learn how to learn.”

Ginger Tedder, who was recently named MSMS executive director, speaks from experience as the school’s leader, as well as a 1992 graduate. Tedder was also taught by Richardson.

“The one thing that has maintained and stayed the same here at MSMS is that it is an opportunity for excellence and that’s whatever excellence means to you. We do provide for the whole child and we make sure that we are meeting as many of the needs as we can.”

Tedder added coming from a family of four and as a new student to MSMS, she was already “gritty.” Her time at MSMS taught her more about discipline and perseverance. “Not only did I learn how to handle adversity…I left very gritty because you just have to dig in and I don’t take that gift lightly.”

A faculty member since 2004, Dr. Thomas Easterling, is the school’s new director for Academic Affairs.

Easterling said, “We were among the first schools in the state to pilot dual-credit and dual-enrollment with The W, and the success of that has been imitated in all kinds of places. I think there’s a difference between what we can do and what a lot of other places can do because all of our faculty have a master’s degree. Some of us have PhDs as well.

“And when they come to MSMS they’re on a college schedule, and we do our best to make sure that our content aligns with what our host institution does and there’s a degree of thoroughness there that is not always easy to duplicate elsewhere.”

Tedder said their students bring community to the school and varying perspectives from life experiences to geographical differences. Easterling echoed Tedder’s sentiments.

Easterling attended the Louisiana School for Math, Science, and Arts in Nachitoches, Louisiana, and noted that both schools have similar populations and pull students from across the state.

“Regardless of where they are starting off, they have to figure out how to work together once they arrive. It is hard to imagine what MSMS would be like without students who get here on the struggle bus. They might have been the best student at their old high school and their high school probably had done everything for them that could be done, but those students are going to see the world in a way that’s different… when they learn from each other, and they have to learn from each other in this residential setting, that’s where the real magic takes place.”

Tedder and Easterling also pointed to the meaningful relationships and partnerships formed with The W over the years.

MSMS’ 248 students are dually enrolled at The W and are able to navigate college life first hand in a nurturing, close-knit university setting. Cultural programming such as Tales from the Crypt, 8th of May Emancipation Celebration and the MoreStory Monuments Project also adds to the quality of life to residents for Columbus and the Golden Triangle.

Easterling said they make sure their students are a part of the community from tutoring groups to math outreach programs for hundreds of middle school students from around the region to the science carnival and college fairs.

“We have never thought of ourselves as being isolated and we want to make sure that we are a part of the fabric of The W community and Columbus as well.”

Tedder added that she’s grateful for the partnership with Columbus Air Force Base in sending students to the school and providing mentorship opportunities.

Perhaps one of the most impactful partnerships to date comes from the recent announcement of the Power of Six Scholarship. This perpetual academic scholarship is the first of its kind to be offered to MSMS students from The W.

The full-tuition academic scholarship, inspired by six of MSMS’ twelve inaugural faculty who were W graduates, is immediately available to MSMS seniors who complete their application to The W. The scholarship covers tuition costs and is aimed at providing students from MSMS with the opportunity to further their education at The W. Recipients of the Power of Six Scholarship are required to live on campus for their first two years. The legacy of the education experienced at The W by MSMS teachers Linda Bridges, Cathy Cadden, Mary Davidson, Judy Morris and Nancy MacNeill lives on through the Power of Six Scholarship.

W President Nora Miller said, “We are proud to house MSMS on our campus, and we love having the brightest students from all over Mississippi share their two years with us. With the Power of Six Scholarship, we hope to extend the stay for some of the MSMS graduates. We continue to explore pathways for these students to make the most of their time here and to enjoy the supportive academic environment of both institutions.”

Tedder and Easterling emphasized that when MSMS students graduate, they graduate from Mississippi’s school, which happens to be called the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science.

“Regardless to where they end up, they are going to make a great impact on their community,” she said.

For those who go out of state for their educational careers, Easterling said, “They are Mississippi’s best ambassadors. It doesn’t matter where they end up, they will encounter people who think that Mississippians still go to class barefoot and don’t have running water.”

Easterling added the Power of Six Scholarship relates in a “beautiful way because all of our graduates have an opportunity to stay here for college. We know that The W excels as a liberal arts university and that it builds on the same kinds of critical reading and critical thinking, critical writing skills that MSMS students get for their two years here and we know that our students are well served by staying at The W to continue their education.”

Tedder said being in K-12, leaders are well aware of the importance of keeping students in the state. She added that MSMS appreciates the innovative partnership with The W and other entities that present options for their students to stay in Mississippi after they graduate.

In summary, she said, “Our lifeblood is in the community we have. We are proud of our community partnerships. We are definitely intertwined in a great way.”