Coahoma Early College High School (CECHS), formerly Coahoma Agricultural High School (CAHS), is a public secondary school in unincorporated Coahoma County, Mississippi (United States), with a Clarksdale postal address.[2] The school is designated as a part of the Coahoma Agricultural High School District (ASD #1402),[3] and operated by Coahoma Community College.[4] Previously it was, as of 2000, one of three independently functioning agricultural high schools in the state of Mississippi.[5] The school has its own facilities, instructional and administrative personnel, and student programs. It shares library facilities with the college.
| Coahoma Early College High School (Aggie) | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
 | |
3240 Friars Point Road , 38614 United States | |
| Coordinates | 34°15′22″N 90°34′17″W / 34.2560689°N 90.5712512°W |
| Information | |
| Type | Public, Secondary |
| School district | Coahoma AHS District |
| President | Valmadge Towner |
| Principal | Cloretha Jamison |
| Teaching staff | 36.03 (FTE)[1] |
| Grades | 7–12 |
| Number of students | 516 (2022-2023)[1] |
| Student to teacher ratio | 14.32[1] |
| Color(s) | Maroon and White |
| Mascot | Tigers |
| Website | http://cahs.k12.ms.us/ |
When it was still CAHS, the school operated the Coahoma Early College High School program.[6] On July 1, 2018, the original Coahoma County Agricultural High School was dissolved, with the Coahoma Early College High School taking its place.
History
editCoahoma County Agricultural High School was established in 1924. It was one of the first agricultural high schools for Blacks in Mississippi. A junior college curriculum was added in 1949 and the institution's name was changed to Coahoma Junior College and Agricultural High School. The school was desegregated in 1965, although the student body has remained mostly and in recent years, exclusively African American.
Coahoma Junior College was removed from the title of Coahoma County Agricultural High School in 1975 and in 1981, the school began operating separately from the Coahoma County School District and dropped the word "county" from its name.
A 2012 report by Augenblick, Palaich and Associates suggested changing the school's focus to an early college school and/or merging it. It stated that the school's academic performance was below the state average and that the school no longer had a focus on agriculture.[4]
On July 1, 2018, the original Coahoma County Agricultural High School was dissolved, with the Coahoma Early College High School taking its place. Governor of Mississippi Phil Bryant signed into law Senate Bill 2501, which required this change in the school, in May 2016.[7]
Demographics
editA majority of the Coahoma AHS student body comes from the towns of Friars Point, Coahoma, Lula, and Jonestown – all part of the Coahoma County School District. A limited number of students from the Clarksdale Municipal School District opt to attend Coahoma AHS instead of Clarksdale High School.[citation needed]
In the 2014–15 school year, the school enrolled 267 black students, 1 Hispanic, and no white students.[8]
Structure
editThe president of Coahoma Community College also serves as superintendent of the Coahoma Agricultural High School. The same board of trustees governs both the high school and community college.
In addition to the superintendent and board of trustees, Coahoma AHS has the same administrative personnel common in other public high schools, including a principal and assistant principal.
Leadership
editSuperintendents
edit| Term | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| 1924–1925 | M. L. Strange |
| 1925–1929 | J. M. Mosley |
| 1929–1937 | J. W. Addison |
| 1937–1945 | J. B. Wright |
| 1945–1966 | B. F. McLaurin |
| 1966–1979 | J. E. Miller |
| 1980–1992 | McKinley C. Martin |
| 1992–2013 | Vivian Presley |
| 2013–present | Valmadge T. Towner |
Principals
edit| Term | Incumbent |
|---|---|
| 1951–1954 | James E. Miller |
| 1954–1963 | W. L. Tobias |
| 1963–1974 | Frank McCune |
| 1974–1984 | Eugene Fox |
| 1984–1985 | Albert Williams |
| 1985–1986 | Sammy Fellton |
| 1986–1987 | T. W. Richardson |
| 1987–1993 | S. T. Bailey |
| 1993–1996 | Olenza McBride |
| 1996–2007 | John Brown |
| 2007–2013 | I. D. Thompson |
| 2014–2015 | Braxton Stowe |
| 2015–2018 | Milton Hardrict |
| 2018–Present | Cloretha Jamison |
Demographics
edit2006–07 school year
editThere was a total of 291 students enrolled at Coahoma Agricultural High School during the 2006–2007 school year. The gender makeup of the school was 53% female and 47% male. The racial makeup of the school was 100.00% African American.[9] 93.5% of the school's students were eligible to receive free lunch.[10]
Previous school years
edit| School Year | Enrollment | Gender Makeup | Racial Makeup | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Female | Male | Asian | African American |
Hispanic | Native American |
White | ||
| 2005–06[9] | 305 | 53% | 47% | – | 100.00% | – | – | – |
| 2004–05[9] | 313 | 53% | 47% | – | 100.00% | – | – | – |
| 2003–04[9] | 297 | 55% | 45% | – | 100.00% | – | – | – |
| 2002–03[11] | 298 | 55% | 45% | – | 100.00% | – | – | – |
Accountability statistics
edit| 2006–07[12] | 2005–06[13] | 2004–05[14] | 2003–04[15] | 2002–03[16] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| District Accreditation Status | Accredited | Accredited | Accredited | Accredited | Accredited |
| School Performance Classifications | |||||
| Level 5 (Superior Performing) | |||||
| Level 4 (Exemplary) | |||||
| Level 3 (Successful) | X | X | X | ||
| Level 2 (Under Performing) | X | X | |||
| Level 1 (Low Performing) | |||||
Notable alumni
edit- Aaron Henry, civil rights leader
See also
edit
- Forrest County Agricultural High School - The sole remaining independently functioning agricultural high school in Mississippi
- Hinds County Agricultural High School - One of three remaining independent agricultural high schools in the state until its 2014 closure
- List of high schools in Mississippi
- List of school districts in Mississippi
References
edit- ^ a b c "COAHOMA COUNTY JR/SR HIGH SCHOOL". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved October 13, 2024.
- ^ "Home". Coahoma Early College High School. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
3240 Friars Point Road Clarksdale, MS 38614
- ^ "District Info Archived 2017-06-15 at the Wayback Machine." Coahoma Agricultural High School. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.
- ^ a b "State education board recommends closing one agriculture school, converting one and keeping one". Associated Press at gulflive.com. 2012-12-20. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ "School District SuperintendentsMay 18". Archived from the original on 2000-10-02. Retrieved 2019-04-20.
- ^ "Coahoma Early College." Coahoma Agricultural High School. Retrieved on July 8, 2017.
- ^ "Bryant signs 5 bills to consolidate some school districts". Fox 13 Memphis. 2016-05-12. Archived from the original on 2017-07-09. Retrieved 2017-07-09.
- ^ "School Directory Information 2014-15". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved 2 December 2017.
- ^ a b c d "Mississippi Assessment and Accountability Reporting System". Office of Research and Statistics, Mississippi Department of Education. Archived from the original on 2007-03-23.
- ^ "2006-07 State, District, and School Enrollment by Race/Gender with Poverty Data" (XLS). Mississippi Department of Education. 2008-01-16. Retrieved 2008-05-17. [dead link]
- ^ "Mississippi Report Card for 2002-2003". Office of Educational Accountability, Mississippi Department of Education. 2004-09-02. Archived from the original on 2007-08-12. Retrieved 2007-08-31.
- ^ "2007 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2007-09-13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-11-27. Retrieved 2007-09-15.
- ^ "2006 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2006-09-06. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-02-17. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ "2005 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2005-09-09. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-13. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ "2004 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2004-09-26. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-05. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
- ^ "2003 Results" (PDF). Mississippi Statewide Accountability System. Mississippi Department of Education. 2003-11-21. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-12-11. Retrieved 2007-05-07.
External links
edit- Coahoma Early College High School – Official site.
- Coahoma Community College – Official site.