4 Corners
A Publication of Lauderdale County School District
Volume III Issue 2
September 2015
LCSD Strong Despite Challenges
There
are
so
many
great
things
happening
in
Lauderdale
County
Schools.
Be-‐
cause
of
the
work
of
our
administrators,
teachers,
and
students,
our
district
con-‐
tinues
to
be
one
of
the
top
school
districts
in
Mississippi.
I
am
especially
proud
of
our
high
schools
and
their
dedication
to
improving
ACT.
Last
week
in
our
monthly
board
meeting,
high
school
principals
presented
their
plans.
It
was
im-‐
pressive!
Because
of
the
level
of
commitment
and
the
diligence
on
the
part
of
both
administrators
and
teachers,
we
will
continue
to
see
improvements,
beneDi-‐
cial
to
both
students
and
schools.
As
promised
in
last
month’s
4
Corners
edition,
I
will
continue
to
keep
you
abreast
of
the
facts
relating
to
the
important
vote,
Initiative
42
or
42A,
on
November
3.
The
question
is
simple…should
schools
be
fully
funded
based
on
a
phase-‐in
ap-‐
proach
(Initiative
42);
or,
should
funding
remain
at
the
discretion
of
our
Legisla-‐
ture
(Initiative
42A)?
One
of
the
biggest
challenges
for
voters
will
be
the
confu-‐
sion
of
the
ballot.
It
is
not
a
simple
yes
or
no
vote.
First,
voters
must
decide
whether
to
vote
for
either
initiative
or
simply
not
vote
at
all.
If
voters
choose
to
vote
“For
Approval
of
Either,”
a
second
vote
is
required
“For”
the
Initiative
of
your
choice.
(A
copy
of
the
sample
ballot
can
be
found
on
page
16.)
Randy Hodges, Superintendent
Finally,
we
are
all
anxious
to
learn
more
about
Questar,
our
new
state
assessment.
According
to
MDE,
there
are
still
a
lot
of
answers
to
be
determined.
As
we
have
new
information,
we
will
certainly
pass
it
on
to
you.
We
do
know
Questar
expects
to
release
a
“practice
test”
mid-‐October.
This
should
provide
teachers
a
glimpse
into
the
type
of
questions
that
will
be
asked.
We
also
know
the
writing
portion
of
the
test
will
be
paper/pencil
for
the
Dirst
two
years.
The
purpose
is
to
ensure
all
students
have
time
to
acquire
adequate
keyboarding
skills.
The
re-‐
maining
portion
of
the
ELA
and
the
Math
assessments
will
be
online.
MDE
has
assured
districts
the
tests
will
be
ready
by
December
for
the
Dirst
administration
in
our
4x4
schools.
Again,
thank
you
for
all
you
do!
Lauderdale
County
School
District
is
off
to
a
great
school
year
because
of
your
hard
work
and
commitment.