Hello,

My name is Dr. Debbie Blackledge, and I am the English Learner Specialist in the Jones County School District. With our current number of English Learners (ELs), we have the third largest EL population in the state. Our EL staff works diligently to meet the daily needs of the growing population of ELs. Therefore, we stay abreast of new strategies and techniques to aid our ELs in their journey to English acquisition and academic success. Further, our teaching staff follows the state-adopted EL standards and the Mississippi College and Career Readiness Standards to prepare our students for graduation, career readiness, and/or college readiness. 

Additionally, we embrace all cultures and encourage our EL students to maintain their cultural background and native language while integrating into the new. Finally, we believe that parent and community involvement plays a huge role in the success of our ELs. For this reason, we encourage parents to participate in their child’s educational journey.