School district to apply for district of innovation status

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) - Officials say a northeast Mississippi school district will seek to become the state’s seventh district of innovation.

The Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal reports the Tupelo school district plans to apply for the status in 2019, seeking a waiver from certain state rules beginning in fall 2020. The district last week began surveying people on strengths and needs.

If Tupelo is approved, it could win exemptions from certain state policies, including a requirement that students spend 330 minutes a day in class and that 95 percent teachers have state-approved endorsements for the subjects they teach.

Superintendent Rob Picou, hired in April, says the status could help Tupelo overhaul curriculum to suit 21-century learners.

Baldwyn, Corinth, Grenada, Gulfport, Hinds County and Vicksburg Warren school districts currently have district of innovation status.

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Information from: Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal, http://djournal.com