Two weeks ago, we shared exciting news about our achievements across our Nashville schools, and this week, we want to focus on the success of our scholars, families, and staff in Jackson, MS!
This week, the state of Mississippi announced that Smilow Collegiate (SC) – the network’s first elementary school – has received an accountability rating of B. We are particularly excited to celebrate SC because of the academic growth rates we have achieved. This past year, SC achieved 62% reading growth and 76% math growth on the MAAP state assessment. This means that 62% of state-tested SC scholars achieved significant growth in reading, and 76% of scholars made significant growth in math!
Our Jackson middle schools – Reimagine Prep (RP) and Smilow Prep (SP) – are two of the highest performing non-magnet middle schools in the city. Each of our middle schools was rated C this year, signaling that we still have work to do, but we are on the right track. Like the other schools across our network, RP and SP demonstrated high growth rates on state exams in both reading and math. Of significance, SP achieved 60% growth in reading and 79% growth in math. RP achieved 62% growth in reading and 69% growth in math.
Our vision at RePublic is for every child in the South to attend a school that prepares them to navigate and change the world. We are committed to making our vision a reality by anchoring our schools in love, achievement, and anti-racism. In doing this work, we share Jackson’s story of resilience. No matter what challenges we face, our dedicated teachers, leaders, and scholars show up day after day to prove what is possible.
We are extremely proud, not only of our progress at RePublic, but the collective educational progress we are seeing across Jackson. Particular gratitude to Dr. Errick Greene and the Jackson Public Schools system for their remarkable growth last year. Now more than ever, we need the entire Jackson community to rally together on behalf of our children, and RePublic is committed to doing our part. As we continue to focus on growing our students faster, we expect to see even greater outcomes!
Onward,
Jon Rybka, CEO