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Building a Dynasty with 3 Years of 'A' Ratings

Building a Dynasty with 3 Years of 'A' Ratings
Ben Leatherman, GSD Reporter

The 2023-2024 school year marks the 3rd year in a row of an A rating for Grenada School District. In sports, if you win a championship three years in a row, you’re declared a dynasty. A scholastic dynasty is certainly what district Superintendent Dr. David Daigneault, the board of trustees, and staff of over 600 are building in Grenada County.

The 2023-2024 school year marks the 3rd year in a row of an A rating for Grenada School District. In sports, if you win a championship three years in a row, you’re declared a dynasty. A scholastic dynasty is certainly what district Superintendent Dr. David Daigneault, the board of trustees, and staff of over 600 are building in Grenada County.

Overall, Grenada School District scored 714 points, ranking 29th out of 144 school districts statewide, and in the top 20% of all districts in Mississippi. These achievements are driven by encouraging students to participate in events both inside and outside of the classroom. Giving every student an opportunity to succeed creates independent and motivated individuals that contribute to society as a whole.

That success is quite evident in Grenada Elementary School’s 5th-grade Science students–they are ranked #2 in the state. In fact, the top-10 across grades and subjects are full of Grenada students. The 4th-grade English Language Arts (ELA) students are #5 in the state; 4th-grade Math are #6; 3rd-grade Math are #9; and 3rd-grade ELA are #9.

As you can see, Grenada’s elementary students are performing phenomenally. They received their 4th A rating, and are ranked in the top 10% of all middle and elementary schools in Mississippi. Grenada Middle School continues to maintain their B rating while making improvements in reading proficiency, math proficiency, and science proficiency. The highlight for the middle school is their 8th-grade Math students who ranked #18 in the state.

Grenada High School teaches its students to turn this early academic success into promising careers where they can choose from different paths like the Career and Technical Education (CTE) path or the Middle College path. These innovative curriculums have led GHS to its 2nd straight A rating and a rank of #39 in the state, moving up 26 spots from last year, and into the top 17% statewide.

The scores and rankings above are derived from the Mississippi Academic Assessment Program, commonly referred to as MAAP. The current format began in 2016 and is designed to measure student achievement in (ELA), Mathematics, Science, and US History.  Students are assessed in grades 3 through 8 in English Language Arts (ELA) and Mathematics, grades 5 and 8 Science, Algebra I, Biology I, English II, and US History.  The results of all MAAP assessments provide information to be used for the improvement of student achievement

Grenada’s administration has maintained a consistent message since the first MAAP scores were released for the 2016-2017 school year. While proud of their B rating, Dr. Daigneault was clear that ‘good enough’ is never enough. GSD followed that by growing by 27 points overall in 2017-2018 and achieving another B. In 2018-2019 the district as a whole was again just shy of an A, but Grenada Elementary School posted their first A rating. ‘18-’19 marked the beginning of GES’s current streak of A’s.

In the spring of 2020, when the current seniors were only in the 7th grade, the school year was disrupted by the pandemic, and MAAP scores weren’t graded the same. While education across the nation declined, Grenada achieved some of the top rankings in the state, albeit without a letter grade. 

When standard reports resumed in the 2021-2022 school year, Grenada School District’s first ever A rating was more than a grade. It was a dream and a vision driven by the entire community. One that strives to make children feel good–to smile–every single day. Now, for the third straight year the bus drivers, cafeteria workers, custodial workers, security officers, teachers, coaches, parents, and principals have lived this dream and have built a dynasty of success.