Grenada Upper Elementary School received an exciting visit from Mississippi’s Interim State Superintendent Dr. Kim S. Benton last Monday morning.
Dr. Benton took the reins of The Mississippi Department of Education on July 1. She most recently served as Interim Chief Academic Officer/ Deputy State Superintendent.
“We are so excited to have her here touring the school today and for her to see just how much work these teachers put in to educating our children,” Assistant Principal Kasey Lott said.
Dr. Benton spent the morning with Principal Carol Tharpe by her side, touring the fourth- and fifth-grade classrooms at The Green Top. Pizazz, the school’s show choir, opened up the tour with two songs for Dr. Benton followed by a visit to the school’s state-of-the-art Discovery Lab.
“I wanted to share our show choir group with her because that’s a large part of what we do as far as our music goes here,” Tharpe said. “I then took her to the Discovery Lab and she was quite impressed with that.”
As she walked the halls of The Green Top and entered each classroom, the smile on Dr. Benton’s face continued to grow.
“When you walk in the door you can immediately feel the joy,” she said.
Grenada School District Superintendent Dr. David Daigneault, Assistant Principal Dr. John Daves, Administrative Programs Officer Dr. Tina Herrington, Administrative Programs Officer Dr. Lyle Williams and Lott were also in attendance for the tour interacting and engaging with Dr. Benton as she made her way around the school.
“It is an honor to have her here with us today,” Dr. Daigneault said. “We are very proud of our school and we want her to see just how wonderful it is. These teachers work so hard each and every day to make sure these children have the best learning experience they possibly can.”
Tharpe and Dr. Benton met last year at a conference in Biloxi. Tharpe was eager to show the State’s academic leader just what her school has accomplished and made sure to invite her to stop by.
“Mrs. Tharpe was actually the very first principal to ever invite me into their school,” Dr. Benton told a few students in a fourth-grade classroom.
Mrs. Stewart’s fifth-grade looping class had the privilege to have Dr. Benton read the story, “Wonder” to them. As they followed along she read the story, stopping every so often to engage and ask questions with the students.
Dr. Benton ended her visit by meeting with the school’s very own Green Top news team. She was able to sit down with the news crew for a special interview.
“You can tell there are high expectations for learning and just for how the students interact with one another,” Benton said.
Dr. Benton has been recognized as a National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals, Administrator of the Year by the Mississippi Association of Elementary Principals, Mississippi State University Alumni of the Year, Meridian Community College Alumni of the Year and is a recipient of the Mississippi Association of School Administrators’ Golden Lamp Award.
Dr. Benton’s professional affiliations include service on the following boards: Mississippi Campaign for Grade-Level Reading Advisory Board, Mississippi Educational Leadership Faculty Association Board of Directors, Council of Chief State School Officers (past chair of Deputy group), National Assessment Governing Board Task Force, Mississippi Early Childhood Association (past-president), Mississippi Professional Educators (past-president).
“This was a wonderful visit,” Dr. Benton concluded. “I wish that I could bottle up the joy and enthusiasm for learning and sprinkle that across classrooms all over the state.”
