How Do We Support Public Education

As part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative, administered by the Mississippi Humanities Council with support from the Mellon Foundation, the staff of The Pine Belt News will give the public a chance to learn about the performance of local school districts – and the individual schools within them – with an upcoming community forum featuring local superintendents and Mayor Toby Barker.

Barker will moderate the event, asking questions of the following superintendents: Robert Williams (Hattiesburg Public School District), Matt Dillon (Petal School District), Steven Hampton (Lamar County School District) and Donna Boone (Forrest County Agricultural School District). Brian Freeman, superintendent of the Forrest County School District, wished to attend but will be out of town that week for a prior obligation.

Topics include, but are not limited to:

• The primary function of a superintendent in today’s school systems;
• Primary initiatives to focus on in the upcoming school years;
• Trends in education;
• The correlation between parent engagement and student outcomes;
• Community relation programs; and
• How the community can help foster excellence in public education.