WCSD improves ratings; WCHS, Buckatunna both earn "A" while Riverview leaps two grades

By Paul Keane

The Wayne County News

While last year's accountability ratings and school grades were good,

the ones released on Thursday are even better.

Rated a "B" school district last year, the Wayne County School District

maintained that level this year but made improvements among individual

schools, with one school making a huge jump.

After years of being rated a "D" school and striving for a "C,"

Waynesboro Riverview School skipped over the next level and moved all

the way to a "B." As a whole, the district moved up 23 points and was

only 10 points away from earning an "A" status. That is a jump of 47

points from the 2019 accountability ratings. All school districts held

that rating in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Wayne County High School jumped from a "B" to an "A" while Buckatunna

maintained its "A" rating. Beat Four maintained its "C" rating. Only two

schools dropped in the ratings. Clara went from an "A" to a "B" while

Wayne Central went from a "C" to a "D."

"We knew we were heading in the right direction but couldn't show

results because COVID kept the accountability ratings at 2019 for two

years," said Superintendent of Education Tommy Branch. "Now, we have two

years of unprecedented movement up, telling us that what we are doing is

working.

"For the last two years, under the current model, we have produced the

highest scores this school district has ever had. We're seeing that this

is working and it's because of everyone working together. Every level of

the district and the community made this happen, and we appreciate all

of the help."

Branch praised the work of students, teachers, administrators and staff,

saying that it took everyone to keep things moving upward.

"This is a Wayne County Family accomplishment," he said. "We have total

buy-in from everyone and everyone deserves the credit. Now, everyone is

seeing that when we all work together, good things happen for the school

district and the community as a whole."

Assistant Superintendent of Education Lynn Revette echoed similar

sentiments.

"I just want to say congratulations to all our stakeholders," she said.

"It takes everyone together to make this happen.

"This was earned by all the students, teachers, administrators and the

community. Everyone's hard work is paying off. We're not satisfied,

though. There are areas where we can make improvements and score even

higher and our goal is to reach those heights."

WCHS is grouped in with the 1,000-point schools while the other K-8

schools are considered 700-point schools. The following is grades,

points and difference in 2022 scores for each school:

WCHS --- "A" rating of 757 points, up from 697 points in 2022, an

increase of 60 points. While the school can move up the point scale, it

cannot advance higher than an "A."

Buckatunna --- "A" rating of 461 points, up from 444 points in 2022, an

increase of 17 points. While the school can move up the point scale, it

cannot advance higher than an "A."

Waynesboro Riverview --- "B" rating of 391 points, up from 326 points in

2022 when the school missed out on being ranked a "C" by only three

points. That is an increase of 65 points and was 51 points away from

making the school an "A."

Clara --- "B" rating of 416 points, down from 459 points in 2022 when

the school earned an "A" rating, a decrease of 43 points. The school

missed earning another "A" rating by 26 points.

Beat Four School --- "C" rating of 374 points, up from the 2022 total of

343, an increase of 31 points. The school missed being rated a "B"

school by only three points.

Wayne Central School --- "D" rating of 319 points, a decrease of nine

points from 2022 when the school was rated a "C." The school missed out

on earning a "C" rating by nine points.

District Overall --- "B" rating of 658 points, up 23 points from last

year's total of 635 when the district was also rated a "B." The district

missed out on earning an "A" rating by 10 points.

The Mississippi Department of Education determines accountability

ratings for every public school in the state, using standardized testing

and evaluations conducted in the spring for students.