• Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: 3 - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 0
    Student Enrollment: 382
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 49%
    White/Caucasian: 38%
    Hispanic: 10%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 59%
    % ELL Learners: 12%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Amy Tate
  • CONTACT:
    1008 Pierce Street
    Tupelo, MS 38801
    662-841-8941
    aptate@tupeloschools.com
Pierce Street Elementary School
Tupelo, MS
We strive to equip students to be PREPARED, RESPECTFUL, to have INTEGRITY, to be DEPENDABLE, and ENTHUSIASTIC about learning."
1. Tell us about your school’s success.
Consistent with the mission of the Tupelo Public School District, Pierce Street Elementary serves the community by engaging each student in an excellent education that develops skills and citizenship needed for success in a global society. At PSE we are home of the lions where we work daily to show our Pierce Street PRIDE. We strive to equip students by teaching them to be PREPARED, RESPECTFUL, to have INTEGRITY, to be DEPENDABLE, and who are ENTHUSIASTIC about their learning. PSE has served the Tupelo community for more than 50 years with a proven record of high academic achievement. Experienced teacher teams allow us to strengthen sound instructional practices year to year to solidify gains for our students. While being named a school of distinction for sustained academic achievement is humbling - it is certainly not surprising. Unyielding expectations, a shared sense of responsibility, and commitment to do what is best for all students are the foundations of our belief system.
2. Talk about the greatest contributing factor(s) that promoted positive change in your school.
An important factor to the overall success of PSE is a shared sense of responsibility to meet students’ needs whether academic, social, behavioral, or personal. PSE strives to educate the whole child. School should be a safe haven for children to learn and grow. Celebrating small successes nurtures confidence and builds excitement as learners progress through school. Meeting students’ individual needs helps us ensure success for all. A focus on positive behavior is a pillar of our school culture. Students have the opportunity to receive positive behavior referrals which are shared with the entire school as they are read aloud daily during morning announcements. Our positive behavior system strives to promote good choices by students as we strive to reward good choices. Very informally, we reiterate to students that when you do good – you get good. This is a life lesson that we hope to instill in our students. When you do good in life – good things come to you in return.
3. How has ESEA funding supported the school's success?
Several supporting factors, which have had a direct impact on student learning at PSE have been made possible with funding from ESEA dollars. This funding has allowed the employment of five additional staff members who serve as support, primarily as academic interventionists. These individuals have the sole responsibility of providing research-based and strategic interventions to students to address academic weaknesses. Title funding has also provided an avenue of offering after-school and summer programs for various, identified academic needs for a series of years. Routinely identifying individual student learning gaps, responding to the need with extra support, and then continuing to monitor student progress has worked to solidify the academic foundation for all students. Additionally, ESEA funds provide our 5th grade students with a fun, hands-on learning experience at the end of the school year. This serves as a culminating review of science content prior to state assessments.
4. What professional development activities were used to improve teaching and learning?
The most significant professional development strategy utilized to improve teaching and learning has been the use of highly qualified, academic consultants. This longstanding partnership with the same reliable academic consultants in the areas of reading, mathematics, and science has allowed teachers to build trust and more importantly, capacity within each professional learning community. Teacher teams meet with consultants at the beginning of each school year and then after each common formative assessment at the end of each school term. These collaborative planning sessions serve as comprehensive and effective data rounds. Outcomes of the planning sessions include a review of current student achievement data, a map of standards to be taught for the upcoming term, an assessment plan (formal and informal) to ensure student mastery, as well as a reteach plan to strategically address weak standards. These planning sessions have become routine practice and simply a part of the culture.
5. Talk about the cultural shift leading up to your school's success.
The primary cultural shift responsible for the academic success of Pierce Street Elementary has been the commitment by all teachers to instructional alignment. While solid teaching practices and the fundamentals of successful professional learning communities were at work within the classrooms of PSE, the missing piece was intentionality. This simple, yet crucial component of our teaching and learning was missing. With attention to detail in ensuring all components of a standard were taught with fidelity and rigor and that instruction had a primary and prescriptive focus each day, academic shifts began to occur. Teachers became intentional about ensuring that every instructional activity revolved around a targeted focus of learning outcomes for the day. Ultimately, daily agendas (learning targets), instructional activities, checks for understandings, and assignments hinged on a single academic standard. Student gains have proven the practice of instructional alignment to be crucial.
6. How has community involvement strengthened your success?
A significant key to the success of PSE is our many partnerships with the community. A few of those being Lee Acres Church of Christ (LACC), Real Men Stand Up (RMSU), Growing Healthy Waves, and K-Club. LACC is a tightknit partnership providing morale boosters for faculty members throughout the year as well as snacks and goodies for students for various functions. They adopt identified students in need of Christmas assistance, as well as serve as a lifeline for emergent and personal needs that may arise. RMSU is a mentoring and leadership program geared toward young men in the community to challenge and change their mindsets to become leaders of tomorrow. The Growing Healthy Waves initiative partners with Food Corps to get students excited about healthy through the experience of growing their own foods in outdoor gardens. K-Club is a partnership with Tupelo Park and Recreation and the Kiwanis Club to create an after-school program for the children of the Lee Acres community.
Stats
  • Category 3

    Selected in 2021

  • Grades: 3 - 5
    School Setting: urban
    Town Population: 0
    Student Enrollment: 382
    Student Demographics:

    Black/African American: 49%
    White/Caucasian: 38%
    Hispanic: 10%
    Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 0%
    Asian: 3%
    Native American: 0%
    Other: 0%

    Teacher/Student Ratio: 1:20
    % Reduced Lunch: 59%
    % ELL Learners: 12%
    Founded: 1968
  • PRINCIPAL:
    Amy Tate
  • CONTACT:
    1008 Pierce Street
    Tupelo, MS 38801
    662-841-8941
    aptate@tupeloschools.com