DeSoto County School District explained

DeSoto County Schools is a public school district based in Hernando, Mississippi (USA) and serving all public school students in DeSoto County in the Memphis metropolitan area. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, DeSoto County is the largest school district in the state of Mississippi.

Schools

High schools

Middle schools

Intermediate Schools

Elementary schools

Other Campuses

Demographics

2006-07 school year

There were a total of 28,738 students enrolled in the DeSoto County School District during the 2006–2007 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 48% female and 52% male. The racial makeup of the district was 26.05% African American, 67.91% White, 4.64% Hispanic, 1.22% Asian, and 0.18% Native American.[1] 27.4% of the district's students were eligible to receive free lunch.[2]

Previous school years

School YearEnrollmentGender MakeupRacial Makeup
Female MaleAsianAfrican
American		HispanicNative
American		White
2005-0627,16648%52%1.21%24.14%4.12%0.20%70.33%
2004-0525,29848%52%1.12%21.92%3.66%0.17%73.13%
2003-0423,67248%52%1.03%20.54%3.18%0.17%75.08%
2002-03[3] 22,14548%52%0.92%18.83%2.99%0.15%77.11%

Integration

The school district did not integrate until forced to by court order in 1970. As recently as 1997, one school had two principals; a white principal to deal with white students and another black principal to deal with black students. Of the district's 42 schools, only two have black principals.[4]

Suspension controversy

While blacks make up approximately one third of the student population, they receive well over half of the suspensions from school. In 2015, the NAACP filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights, alleging that the school district has violated the Civil Rights Act by discriminating "against Black students on the basis of race through its discipline policies and practices fostering a school-to-prison pipeline and fueling racial disparities." The suit asks the federal government to force the district to revise the vague code of conduct which allows for uneven punishments of minority students.[5] The school district has a long history of violating federal mandates requiring civil rights reforms.[6] In addition to the racial disparities in suspension rates, they suit also alleges that punishments differ widely for the same actions. In one fight, for instance, a black student was suspended a week for shouting, while the white girl with whom she fought was suspended for only two days.

Accountability statistics

2006-07[7] 2005-06[8] 2004-05[9] 2003-04[10] 2002-03[11]
District Accreditation StatusAccreditedAccreditedAccreditedAccreditedAccredited
School Performance Classifications
Level 5 (Superior Performing) Schools1611151515
Level 4 (Exemplary) Schools1112655
Level 3 (Successful) Schools01221
Level 2 (Under Performing) Schools00000
Level 1 (Low Performing) Schools00000
Not Assigned42222

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System . Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070323012858/http://orsap.mde.k12.ms.us:8080/MAARS/indexProcessor.jsp . 2007-03-23 .
  2. Web site: 2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data . . Mississippi Department of Education . 2008-01-16 . 2008-05-17 .
  3. Web site: Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003 . Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education . 2004-09-02 . 2007-08-31 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070812173502/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/RC3B/RC3B.htm . 2007-08-12 .
  4. Web site: Mississippi district’s black students make up a third of enrollment, but half of all suspensions. 19 November 2017.
  5. News: Burtymowicz. Sarah. Half of DeSoto's suspensions are black students. 19 November 2017. 28 April 2015.
  6. Web site: Mississippi's School Discipline Crisis. 19 November 2017. 1 December 2017. https://web.archive.org/web/20171201042513/https://desotocountyreform.com/2015/05/20/mississippis-school-discipline-crisis/. dead.
  7. Web site: 2007 Results . . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2007-09-13 . 2007-09-15 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20071127152304/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM07/ACC07LST.PDF . 2007-11-27 .
  8. Web site: 2006 Results . . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2006-09-06 . 2007-05-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070217064644/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM06/ACC06LST.PDF . 2007-02-17 .
  9. Web site: 2005 Results . . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2005-09-09 . 2007-05-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061213051444/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM05/ACC05FLST.PDF . 2006-12-13 .
  10. Web site: 2004 Results . . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2004-09-26 . 2007-05-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070705114957/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM04/ACC04FLST.PDF . 2007-07-05 .
  11. Web site: 2003 Results . . Mississippi Statewide Accountability System . Mississippi Department of Education . 2003-11-21 . 2007-05-26 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20061211050815/http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/Account/SAM03/ACC03CLST.PDF . 2006-12-11 .

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