National Awards:

• 2005 - No Child Left Behind National Blue Ribbon Schools – Gautier High
• 2005 - No Child Left Behind National Blue Ribbon Schools – Pascagoula High
• 2010 – 100 Best Communities in America for Young People – America’s Promise, First and only community in Mississippi to receive the award
• 2011 – HealthierUS School Challenge – Bronze Medal winners, all 16 schools
• 2011 – 100 Best Communities in America for Young People – America’s Promise, first and only school district in Mississippi to receive the award
• 2012 – 100 Best Communities in America for Young People – America’s Promise, first and only school district in Mississippi to receive the award

National Awards:

• 2005 - Terrel Bell Award for Outstanding School Leadership, presented by the U. S. Department of Education, National Association of Elementary School Principals, the National Middle Schools Association, and the National Association of Secondary School Principals
• 2005 – Gautier High selected to march in President George Bush’s Inaugural Parade, Washington, D.C.
• 2006 –Visited by President George Bush and First Lady at their announcement of the Laura Bush Library Grant Program at College Park Elementary, Gautier
•  2006 – Supt. Rodolfich selected by Scholastic Inc. as the Mississippi representative at the American Library Association’s National Town Hall meeting with keynote speaker First Lady Laura Bush and moderator CNBC's Lester Holt in New Orleans, La.
• 2006 -  Scholastic Inc. Recovery in the Gulf: One Year Later, Supt. Rodolfich is Mississippi Representative at the Scholastic Headquarters, New York, New York
• 2007 – Trent Lott Middle School teacher Patti Ramer wins National Extreme Classroom Makeover with Paige Hemmis, of ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover visiting.
• 2007 – STAR bus featured at National Reading Renaissance Conference, Orlando, Fla.
• 2008 - National School Public Relations Awards of Excellence for Destination Graduation!
• 2008 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2008 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools – Pascagoula  High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2009 - National School Public Relations Award of Excellence for Destination Graduation!
•  2009 - National Drop Out Prevention Network’s Crystal Star Award for Excellence in Drop Out Recovery, Intervention and Prevention
• 2009 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2009 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools – Pascagoula  High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2010 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2010 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Pascagoula High School– Bronze Medal Winner
• 2010 National School Public Relations – Golden Achievement Award for Family Interactive Center
• 2010 – Latoya Fortenberry, Jackson Elementary, Milken Educator Award
• 2011 - National School Public Relations – Golden Achievement Award for Family Interactive Center
• 2012 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2012 - U.S. News and World Report - America’s Best High Schools - Pascagoula High School– Bronze Medal Winner
• 2012 – Golden Achievement Award – National School Public Relations Association for Family Interactive Center
• 2013 - U.S. News and World Report – America’s Best High Schools – Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2014 – U.S. News and World Report – America’s Best High Schools – Gautier High School – Bronze Medal Winner
• 2014 – National School Public Relations Golden Achievement Award for Mississippi Common Core Collaboration and Website

Regional Awards:

• 2008 - Southern Public Relations Federation Award of Excellence for Destination Graduation!
• 2009 - Southern Public Relations Federation Award of Excellence for Destination Graduation!
• 2010 – Southern Public Relations Federation Award of Excellence for Family Interactive Center
• 2011 – Southern Public Relations Federation Award of Excellence for Family Interactive Center

State Awards:

• 2007 - Governor’s Award, Mississippi Association of Partners in Education for Excellence in Community Partnership with Chevron
• 2008 – Supt. Rodolfich, winner, Mississippi Educational Computing Association (MECA) Technology Administrator of the Year
• 2008 – Mississippi’s Golden Medallion Award, highest award given by the Mississippi Public Relations Association, for Destination Graduation!
• 2008 - Governor’s Award, Mississippi Association of Partners in Education for Excellence in Community Partnership with Pascagoula Kiwanis Club
• 2009 - Governor’s Award, Mississippi Association of Partners in Education for Excellence in Community Partnership with Backpack Buddies
• 2009 - Mississippi’s Golden Medallion Award, highest award given by the Mississippi Public Relations Association, for Destination Graduation!
• 2009 – Winner of Mississippi Kids Count Model Success Story for Pascagoula School District’s teen pregnancy program.
• 2010 – Mississippi Governor’s Award – for Best Community Partnership between Community and the Pascagoula School District, Mississippi Association of Partners in Education
• 2010 Public Relations Association of Mississippi – Award of Merit for Family Interactive Center
• 2010 Spirit of Mississippi Main Street Award for Family Interactive Center
• 2010 Mississippi School Public Relations  – Golden Medallion Award for Family Interactive Center and Super Saturdays
• 2010 Mississippi School Public Relations – First Place for Destination Graduation! newsletter
• 2010 Mississippi School Public Relations – Debbie Anglin, PSD’s Director of Communication is named MSPRA’s first Communicator of the Year
• 2011 Public Relations of Mississippi PRISM award for Destination Graduation! newsletter
• 2011 PREPS Economic Development/Community Partnership Award for Family Interactive Center
• 2011 – Mississippi’s Parent of the Year Susan Landry from Singing River Elementary.
• 2011 – Patricia Freeman, South Mississippi Nurses Association Nurse of the Year
• 2012 – Mississippi School Public Relations Award of Excellence, first place for Destination Graduation! newsletter
• 2012 – Mississippi School Public Relations Association Award of Excellence, second place – Golden Medallion Award
• 2013 – Mississippi School Public Relations Association Golden Medallion Award Family Interactive Center
• 2014 – Mississippi Association of Partners in Education Governor’s Award for Mississippi Common Core Collaboration and Website

 Local Award:

• 2009 - Pascagoula’s Main Street Community Award for Family Interactive Center
• 2010 – Pascagoula High School – STAR status – highest ranking in Miss. Department of Education accountability system
• 2010 – Pascagoula High School – Pascagoula Main Street Youth Award for volunteerism at Pascagoula Live Oak Arts Festival
• 2011 – Supt. Wayne Rodolfich – South Mississippi ‘s Outstanding Community Leaders, Class of 2010

National Television Coverage:

• 2007 - Oprah Winfrey Show, Colmer Middle School Basketball Team – Pay it Forward
• 2009 - The Today Show – Gautier Elementary Teacher Maury Gusta and students

Local Television Shows:

• 2009-2011 - PSD’s Destination Graduation show on Coast Media Project Cable Channel, 30 episodes filmed
• 2008-2014 – WLOX-TV – 70 stories reported on PSD initiatives

Publications:

• 2005 - Gautier High School featured in The Achiever National Newsletter from the United States Department of Education
• 2008 – South Mississippi Living Magazine for Destination Graduation!
• 2009 National Biology Teacher Magazine for WetKids/My Two Boots – A Walk in the Wetlands
• 2009 – Pointe Innovation Magazine for Institute of Technology
• 2009  -  South Mississippi Living Magazine for district’s Family Interactive Center
• 2009 – Mississippi Kids Count Database Book, Success Story: Pascagoula School District’s Teen Pregnancy Program
• 2011 Education Executive Magazine – Pascagoula School District
• 2012 – South Mississippi Living – 12-page spread Family Interactive Center
• 2013 – South Mississippi Living – spread on Family Interactive Center
• 2013 – Kids and Parents Magazine – spread on Family Interactive Center

District Partnerships

• Family Interactive Center – District partnered with Chevron, Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding, Bacot-McCarty Foundation, Mississippi Power Foundation, Pascagoula Rotary Club, Junior Auxiliary of Pascagoula-Moss Point, Lyons, Pipes and Cook Attorneys, Stewart Construction, City of Pascagoula, Bain Capital, Caldwell Banker Realty, Merchants and Marine Bank, Jackson County Board of Supervisors to fund the resources for this center which is open free to the public. The center features a wetlands room, TV studio, block room, STEM room, recording studio and sound room, broadcast journalism lab, iMac lab, planetarium, technology lab with flight simulation software, black light room, miniature golf course, pre-k classroom, and Main Street Room featuring a fire station, You-Build-it Center, grocery Store and a bank.
• United Way of Jackson and George Counties – District raised more than $100,000 since Hurricane Katrina
• American Heart Association – District raised more than $64,000 since Hurricane Katrina
• Backpack Buddies – Provides food to needy children and their families through grant monies
• Bacot-McCarty Foundation – Brought Joe Ehrmann, Gulf Coast Youth Symphony and Singing River Opera to the community
• Clothes closet – Provides uniforms to more than 500 children on yearly basis
• Pascagoula Kiwanis Club – Provides dictionaries to Pascagoula third graders and books to all second graders, Terrific Kids program
• Pascagoula Rotary Club – Provides scholarships to high school students and grants to teachers
• Gautier Rotary Club – Provides dictionaries to Gautier third graders
• My Two Boots: A Walk in the Wetlands – District partners with more than 75 Master Naturalists, conservationists, and others for a day-long, hands-on learning wetlands experience for all sixth graders
• Gautier High School Veterans Breakfast – Largest annual veterans tribute by students in Jackson County
• Katrina Counselors – Partnership with Chevron to provide five additional counselors for students and employees in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
• America’s Promise – Program at Pascagoula High, Colmer Middle and Jackson Elementary to assist with drop out prevention
• Mississippi Scholars – District’s Destination Graduation rap song is now part of the newly revamped Mississippi Scholars program presented to middle and high school students across the state. This Mississippi Scholars project won the top project award for Leadership Mississippi.

Communications: Key to All Stakeholders

• Website: www.psd.ms  Over 4 million hits since August 2007; More than 400 countries across U.S. and 100 countries around the world have visited the site; more than 6.9 million pages viewed.
• Parent Internet Viewer
• Extensive Parent Contacts
• School Messenger for mass communication
• Quarterly newsletters
• District-wide and school websites
• Weekly E-News Blasts
• Destination Graduation weekly television show
• Monthly Parent Advisory, Faculty Advisory meetings
• Monthly School Board Meetings
• School Open Houses
• Publicity – newspapers, television, radio, website
• Superintendent meetings with teacher groups school by school

 Family Interactive Center – Outreach to Community

• Monthly Super Saturday Themed Events, open free to the public.
• Since its inception, more than 75,000 people have attended trainings, events, and Super Saturdays at the center.
• Open daily for scheduled field trips for day cares, elementary, middle and high school students from Pascagoula, Gautier, Moss Point and Ocean Springs and individual families
• Home to the Pre-K Launching Pad – More than 200 preschoolers from child cares in Pascagoula and Gautier come to the center twice a month for a morning of study in literacy, math and science and technology. Students bussed in on district-owned 30-passenger air-conditioned buses with child restraints.
• Training facility for teachers, employees, civic and service organization. In the past year, more than 20,000 people have been trained in the center including trainings by Mississippi Department of Education, Gulf Coast Education Initiative Consortium, Institute of Higher Learning.
• Gym used by Pascagoula Recreation Department, Pascagoula High basketball teams, Pascagoula High cheerleader practice, and Opportunity Center recess.
• Host to events such as Pascagoula First Business Expo, Joe Ehrmann, motivational speaker, Gulf Coast Youth Symphony, Singing River Chorale, Pascagoula Junior Miss, Singing River Opera, Pascagoula High School Band and Choir Winter Showcase, Mississippi Scholastic Association Regional Meeting.
• Future plans – Virtual field trips to local, state and national corporations and locations, workforce development in partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College and local business and industry
• Additions in the months ahead: castle and pirate-themed room, state-of-the-art preschool room and community room

 

State Positions and Service Held by Leadership Team

Greg Freeman, Athletic Director - President of Mississippi High School Activities Association – 2011

Debbie Anglin, Director of Communications – President, Mississippi Association of Partners in Education – 2011 & 2012

Curt Parker, Technology – President of Mississippi Educational Computing Association – 2011

Wayne Rodolfich – Mississippi Commission of Children’s Justice, appointed by Supreme Court Justice Randy Pierce.

 

Commitment to Pascagoula taxpayers and Pascagoula School District Employees and Students:

• Pascagoula School Board reduced school taxes for Pascagoula taxpayers by 4 mils in 2009
• Pascagoula School Board approved plan for the district to be debt-free by 2012
• Pascagoula School Board voted to open the Family Interactive Center and Institute of Technology at no cost to taxpayers
• Pascagoula School Board voted to open the Excel by 5 Toy Library and Resource Center free of charge to the public.
• Pascagoula School Board voted to increase teacher and all hourly employee pay by 3 percent in 2009
• Pascagoula School Board voted to pay teachers at their daily rate for summer curriculum writing.
• Supplied middle and high school science teachers a discretionary budget to purchase science supplies
• All secondary schools received 10 Apple iMac computers for their Media Centers
• Gifted, art and music classes have all received large-screen Apple IMac computers for their classrooms.
• Secondary schools have received new sound systems in their cafeterias for exposure to a variety of music genres.
• High school band has received new band uniforms
• Physical improvements made to all schools in Pascagoula including addition of four classrooms, two  state-of-the-art computer labs, band hall and choir room at Colmer Middle School; new bathrooms, and classroom renovations to Trent Lott Academy; new floors, shelves and door replacement to all Katrina-damaged schools.
• New chair-back bleachers and concrete and asphalt bases have been installed at baseball and softball complexes
• New track has been laid at War Memorial Stadium in Pascagoula
• Bleachers, scoreboard and concrete base for the Junior Varsity team, middle school and pee-wee football league have been installed
• Remodeling and improvements made to field houses for middle school football program include new power racks with weights.
• New batting cage for PHS girls’ softball installed
• South Field resurfaced with new sprinkler system installed, new restrooms with plans to install concessions, and bleachers as another venue for children to play youth sports games.
• Air conditioning has been installed at Trent Lott Academy, Colmer Middle and the Family Interactive Center gyms.
• Singing River Auditorium renovated. Professional lighting and sound installed along with 700 chairs – largest seated venue in Jackson County.
• Tennis courts and batting cages on South Field, also open to the public