No matter where the Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science is located in the future, Executive Director Ginger Tedder said its administration is committed to maintaining the school’s academic excellence.
The Mississippi Department of Education received proposals from the Mississippi University for Women and Mississippi State University this week as a part of a previous request for each university to develop long-term plans to host MSMS.
The request, issued on Feb. 7, invited MUW and MSU to share their, “expertise in the arts, mathematics, science and engineering research.” The request also asked the entities for “goals to increase enrollment opportunities and enhance educational programming” for MSMS. It is anticipated any potential changes would go into effect in the 2026-2027 school year.
In response to the request and submissions, Tedder said the school’s goal of excellent education “has been here since I was a student and since our creation. Whatever the decisions are, [administrators] will make [MSMS] a safe and exceptional educational experience.”
Notably, Director of Student Affairs Stacey Holmes and Director of Academic Affairs Thomas Easterling said administrators acknowledge the limitations of MSMS’s outdated facilities and seek to improve them. Both proposals seek funding from the Legislature for future infrastructure improvements, including dorms and learning spaces.
“Students from the 1960s are different from 2000s students, so their needs are different,” Holmes said. “There’s only so much you can do to a building to modernize it. We want to [address] MSMS students’ needs.”
“We’ll have spaces for cross-curricular instruction in ways we’ve not had in the past,” Easterling added. “MSMS’s leaders have embraced the fact that the magic of a school largely takes place in rooms where young people learn from more experienced people.”
Administrators held a meeting for staff and faculty to discuss the two proposals Thursday [Feb. 27], and additional meetings are expected in the future.
Visit these links to read the MSU proposal and the MUW proposal.
Editor’s Note: Staff Writer Raymond Yang contributed to this article.
