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Quality Counts
Miss. Students Selected for Senate Youth Program
Seniors Emily Adcock and Vaibhavi Mahajan joined Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith in representing Mississippi during the 60th annual United States Senate Youth Program (USSYP) Washington Week March 6-9.
Adcock, of Madison, and Mahajan, of Brandon, were selected from among the state’s top student leaders to be part of a 104-student delegation and will each receive a $10,000 college scholarship for undergraduate study. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the 2022 program was held online through a comprehensive and highly interactive virtual education and leadership forum.
The USSYP was created in 1962 and has been sponsored by the Senate and fully funded by the Hearst Foundations since inception. The impetus for the program as stated in Senate testimony is “to increase young Americans’ understanding of the interrelationships of the three branches of government, learn the caliber and responsibilities of federally elected and appointed officials and emphasize the vital importance of democratic decisionmaking not only for America, but also for people around the world.”
Each year this extremely competitive merit-based program provides the most outstanding high school students — two from each state, the District of Columbia and the Department of Defense Education Activity — with an intensive week-long study of the federal government and the people who lead it.
The overall mission of the program is to help instill each class of USSYP student delegates with more profound knowledge of the American political process and a lifelong commitment to public service. In addition to the program week, the Hearst Foundations provide each student with a $10,000 undergraduate college scholarship with encouragement to continue coursework in government, history and public affairs. All expenses for Washington Week are also provided by the Hearst Foundations.
Adcock, who attends Madison Central High School (MCHS), serves as the secretary of the Beta Club. She is a National Merit semifinalist, the color guard Adcock captain for the marching band and a delegate for the Mississippi Youth Legislature. An alumna of the Hugh O’Brian World Leadership Congress, she also sits on Madison’s Youth Council. At MCHS, she is president of the Jag Buddies Club and a member of the National Honor Curry Society, Women’s Empowerment Club, Advocates for Change and the symphonic band. Her community service consists of projects through her church, Beta Club, National Honor Society and Jag Buddies. She plans to major in public health with minors in English and public policy, ultimately hoping to study law Mahajan and craft health care policy.
Mahajan, who attends Northwest Rankin High School (NWRHS), has served as class copresident all four years in student government. Additionally, she serves as president of Beta Club, National English Honor Society and Model U.N. She is vice Zhang president of the National Honor Society and DECA, an organization focused on entrepreneurship, and serves in many other organizations in school. She is a Mississippi Children’s Museum volunteer and established a free student-led ACT workshop for her school. She is a National Merit semifinalist and has been designated an Amazing Teen by the Jackson Free Press. This past summer she was elected secretary of state at Magnolia Girls State and was chosen as one of the two Mississippi senators to Girls Nation. Mahajan plans to attend Georgetown University to study international affairs, which will prepare her to serve as an ambassador for the U.S., and one day secretary of state.
Amy Zhang, a resident of Starkville who attends Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, and Albert Curry, a resident of Brandon who attends NWRHS, were chosen as alternates for the 2022 program. Zhang is also the current senior student representative to the Mississippi State Board of Education.
Delegates and alternates are selected by the state departments of education nationwide and the District of Columbia and Department of Defense Education Activity, after nomination by teachers and principals. The chief state school officer for each jurisdiction confirms the final selection. This year’s Mississippi delegates and alternates were designated by Dr. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education.
During the program week, the student delegates attend online meetings and briefings with senators, the president, a justice of the Supreme Court and leaders of cabinet agencies, among others. In addition to outstanding leadership abilities and a strong commitment to volunteer work, the student delegates rank academically in the top 1% of their states among high school juniors and seniors.
MDE Grants Help Teachers Seeking Advanced Degrees
The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE), through its Mississippi Teacher Residency (MTR) program, is awarding $9.88 million in grants to five universities in the state to cover tuition and expenses for up to 240 individuals seeking a graduate degree in elementary and secondary education.
The MDE is using American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds to cover the grants.
The MTR will provide grants to the universities’ educator preparation programs to enroll diverse participants to work toward their graduate degree and Mississippi teacher certification. MTR will include training alongside a mentor teacher, testing support, professional development, ongoing assessment and a commitment to teach in a geographical critical shortage school or district serving low-income children, racial/ ethnic minorities and children with disabilities disproportionately impacted by COVID-19.
The universities receiving grant funding are Delta State University, Jackson State University, Mississippi State University, the University of Southern Mississippi and William Carey University.
Individuals accepted into the MTR program will receive full scholarships, testing fees, books and mentor stipends. Applications will be available on MDE’s website by April.
MTR is one of the state’s strategies to address the national teacher shortage. A fall MDE survey to assess educator shortage showed there are 3,036 certified teacher vacancies in Mississippi.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and closure of testing sites for licensure examinations in March 2020, the Mississippi State Board of Education temporarily waived many of the licensure exam requirements for new teachers and test score requirements for students entering teacher preparation programs.
Data indicate the waivers for program entry contributed to an overall 143% increase in the total number of students entering teacher preparation programs. The waiver period from March 2020 through the summer of 2020 was a major factor in more than doubling the number of admitted candidates from 1,427 in 2018-2019 to 3,468 in 2019-2020.
MDE’s Office of Teaching and Leading has operated MTR since 2018 to increase the number of qualified teachers entering and remaining in the profession. The project is funded by a $4.1 million grant from the Kellogg Foundation. MTR is part of a statewide strategy to expand and diversify the teacher pipeline, so all students have teachers who are wellprepared, appropriately licensed and able to serve as role models.
In previous years, MTR was available to undergraduate and graduate students, resulting in 85 participants so far, 17 of whom have graduated and received their teaching license. The program has also assisted up to seven provisionally licensed educators to become fully licensed. When surveyed recently, 87% of MTR mentor respondents indicated that their assigned residents would be prepared to assume lead teaching responsibilities upon graduation.
“At MDE we are committed to developing more effective teachers particularly for critical areas in Mississippi,” said Dr. Carey Wright, the state superintendent of education. “We are delighted to collaborate with these five universities to not only eliminate students’ financial costs for a graduate degree, but also equip potential educators with necessary tools inside and outside of the classroom.”
Institution of Higher Learning Year 1 Grant Award
Delta State University Jackson State University Mississippi State University University of Southern Mississippi William Carey University Total Per Year $951,463.20 $1,019,294.82 $1,017,568 $1,019,917 $929,003 $4,937,246.02 $951,463.20 $1,019,294.82 $1,019,012 $1,019,909 $939,543 $4,949,222.02 $1,902,926.40 $2,038,589.64 $2,036,580 $2,039,826 $1,868,546 $9,886,468.04
