Education

Public Schools

The Water Valley School System, founded shortly after the Civil War, gained prestige in the 1880s when Superintendent J.R. Preston set up a graded school open to any student aged 5 to 21. Thanks to Preston's innovative leadership, the Water Valley System was recognized as one of the state's foremost schools.

Today- nearly a century and a half later -the Water Valley School District (WVSD) stands firm, dedicated to student achievement. WVSD serves the city of Water Valley and the northern one-third of Yalobusha County. The district consists of three campuses: Davidson Elementary School (DES), Water Valley High School (WVHS), and the Education Center, which serves students from both DES and WVHS who are assigned to alternative education or GED programs. Total student enrollment averages 1,350 students.

Davidson Elementary School

207 Goode St.  .....................................................473-1110

DES serves some 750 students in Kindergarten through grade 6. Music, physical education, and gifted programs enhance a traditional curriculum. Students are positively rewarded for their learning advancement through ongoing initiatives, including reading readiness and advanced reading comprehension. Partnering with community entities, DES sponsors a "Character Counts" program that helps nurture the moral development of students.

Water  Valley High School

550 Markette St. .................................................473-2468

WVHS serves some 550 students in grades 7 through 12. In addition to traditional academic courses, WVHS offers upper level science and mathematics, advance placement English, foreign language study, and gifted education. Vocational/technical programs are in agriculture, building trades, food services, and cooperative education. Computer and technological resources are implemented at all grade levels. Extracurricular activities include football, basketball, baseball, cheerleading, track, volleyball, band and a host of clubs.

WVHS boasts student representation at the Mississippi Governor's School, a Technology Expo attended annually by area businesses, and the state's only Environmental and Spatial Technology (EAST) Lab.

Private Schools

A variety of private schools serve families throughout the extended area- from Oxford to Batesville to Grenada. These institutions offer a variety of educational courses and extracurricular activities. Here in Water Valley, Faith Christian Academy (FCA) is a religious-affiliated school that serves students from Kindergarten through grade 12. For more than 25 years, FCA has offered a structured learning environment, individualized instruction, and integrated Biblical values.

Faith Christian Academy

1300 Eckford St.  .................................................473-1661

Home Schooling

The State of Mississippi has minimal regulation regarding home education for children aged 6 to 17. By September 15 of the current school year, parents must complete a certificate of enrollment through the Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Compulsory School Attendance Enforcement. Curriculum is selected by parents without restriction by the state. Standardized tests are not required for home school students. More information is available via the Mississippi Home Educators Association's website at www.mhea.net.

EAST Lab Project

In 2001, Water Valley High School opened the first EAST (Environmental and Spatial Technology) Lab in the state of Mississippi. It is supported by academic partnerships, which incorporate relationships that provide awareness and access to necessary and relevant resources. The underlying philosophy for these partnerships is the educational model that is EAST.

EAST is an experience that can fundamentally change the way students experience education and provides a significant learning opportunity that has the capability to challenge and energize EAST participants for a lifetime. EAST is best described as a performance based learning environment that utilizes problem-based service learning and advanced technological applications. The class is structured around students taking on specific projects that can help their schools and communities. They use the capabilities of a sophisticated computer laboratory as a resource to accomplish these goals. EAST students have some of the most sophisticated technology in the world at their disposal. However, the class itself is not about teaching the technology. EAST is about using the technology as a starting point in the development of its relevant goal: creative, open-minded, innovative, problem-solving, life-long learners.

EAST is designed to serve a diverse population of students from those identified as special education to the “middle” students to the advanced and gifted students. “Its for anybody who shows an interest, who wants to be involved with technology,” says Brenda Gulledge, EAST Lab instructor. Students, working in teams and individually, tackle real world problems. “EAST is about service to community, state, and school.”

The EAST Lab is a multi-station Microsoft NT based lab that offers students a variety of different types of hardware and software applications. Among the opportunities for growth EAST is the chance to learn more about new technologies they wouldn't see until they were in college.

Water Valley High School EAST Lab has been fortunate to have tremendous support of school administration and the community. The school district has partnered with Mechanics Bank and other business and community leaders to support the program financially and to encourage the students in their project efforts.

“Our goal is to expose as many students as possible to the newer technologies and to expose them to ways that they can do real world things with what they learn through technology.”