U.S. Secretary of Education makes two stops in Oxford

• Secretary Linda McMahon read to students and said it was a joy witnessing the state’s remarkable strides in early literacy.

As part of her national tour, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Oxford Early Childhood Learning Center on Wednesday where she took a moment to interact and read to some of the children. 

McMahon made the visit as part of her Returning Education to the State’s Tour, where she will visit a school district in all 50 states.

“Mississippi has made remarkable strides in early literacy through focused state leadership and a return to the fundamentals. It was a joy to start my morning by reading to students in Oxford and witnessing the Mississippi Miracle firsthand,” said Secretary McMahon in a statement.

National education leaders have praised Mississippi for the state’s gains in education, giving the achievement the moniker of the “Mississippi Miracle,” a term Oxford School District Superintendent Bradley Roberson believes should be modified to reflect the reality of how those gains were achieved. 

“We were very quick to tell her that we don’t like it referred as the ‘Mississippi Miracle’ because we don’t think it’s a miracle,” Roberson said. “And the reason we don’t think it’s a miracle is because there was a lot of hard work and intentionality that went into getting Mississippi education where it is today. We refer to it as the ‘Mississippi Marathon’, the ‘Mississippi Momentum.’ And it’s our goal to keep the momentum moving forward for our kids and our state.”

State Senator Nicole Boyd (R), who participated in the visit, said the event was a positive example of what makes Mississippi great.

“Today in Oxford, our school district did an incredible job of showcasing Mississippi’s remarkable progress in education,” Boyd told Magnolia Tribune. “To move from last in the nation to 16th is a powerful story of hard work and commitment from our students, teachers, and families. Having the Secretary of Education here to see that transformation firsthand is a proud moment for Mississippi.”

Roberson said the visit lasted about two and a half hours and included tours of classrooms, a round table discussion with stakeholders of the district, and a reading session with McMahon in one of the facility’s 4K classrooms. 

“One of Secretary McMahon’s priorities is early childhood education, we share that value,” Roberson told Magnolia Tribune. 

Topics of conversation during the visit not only included early childhood literacy but also accelerated learning on the secondary level and workforce development.

A standout program that began at Oxford School District when Roberson took on the responsibilities of superintendent is the Pre-K to Professional Readiness Initiative. He described it as a research-based program to ensure children build skills in personal responsibility, critical thinking, problem solving and resilience. 

“It really pushes the educational norm past just math, science, English and social studies,” Roberson added. “Because the research is clear, there are essential skills that kids need to know in order to be successful past high school graduation.”

Those skills include children understanding the importance of showing up every day for class and being on time, both skills employers prize.

Some of the efforts taking place at Oxford School District may be shared with other school districts as Secretary McMahon continues her tour across the nation. Roberson said that she was impressed with the district’s early childhood program, especially since the district is considering expanding access to it all the way to birth. 

“Because again, we know that education really starts in the womb to be honest with you,” Roberson explained.

The district’s efforts to remove barriers to advanced placement courses for all students, which is especially helpful for students who face difficult life circumstances such as poverty, also caught McMahon’s attention.

“She thought that was something that would be relevant for other school districts across the state and nation to do as well,” Roberson said. “We feel like, and we hope that, we did Mississippi justice yesterday in just retelling the great story of Mississippi education.”

In addition to her visit to the Oxford Early Childhood Learning Center, she made one other stop.

“She also visited Ole Miss that afternoon,” State Superintendent Dr. Lance Evans said during Thursday’s Board of Education meeting.

“At Ole Miss, I had productive conversations about the federal-state partnership to save college sports and support student-athletes’ success on and off the field. These experiences will help inform our ongoing efforts to encourage local involvement in education across the nation,” McMahon said.