Dr. Carey Wright, State Superintendent of Education, visited the Poplarville Lower Elementary auditorium Monday afternoon in order to recognize the Poplarville School District for improving the accountability score to an A in the latest statewide scores.

“From principals, teachers, students and everyone else on the staff, I want to thank you for making this possible,” Poplarville School District Superintendent Carl Merritt said. “That’s what you shoot for every year. When you play, you want to win and want to be the best. Our teachers are teaching the curriculum, our students are responding and now we know what we have to do to get there and we have to maintain it.”

Students in attendance for Monday’s event ranged from elementary school to high school level.

“This is a great way to start a Monday,” Wright said. “The Poplarville School District is in the top 10 out of 144 districts in the state of Mississippi, so give yourself a pat on the back. This is not an easy goal to achieve and it’s an effort that takes everyone’s help in every grade level to achieve it. The education that every student is receiving will help them have a better future.”

Within the last year, the dropout rate of high school students in the state of Mississippi fell, leading to higher graduation rates. Also SAT scores have improved, Wright said.

“My message to everyone here is to keep the momentum up,” Wright said. “From teachers to students, everyone has committed to a high standard of education and the hard work is paying off.”

In the statewide accountability test, the state looks at things such as attendance, efficiency, special education groups, graduation rates and other factors within the district.

“We want to move further ahead next year, it’s been a great reward,” Merritt said. “These students and teachers are the ones that deserve all the praise. With everything we put out on the central office, they did it exactly the way we wanted and it has paid off.”