Staffing and structure changes at River City Early College (RCEC) are necessary for improvement and will not affect the educational quality or services offered to students, said the superintendent.

Dr. Tori Holloway, superintendent of Vicksburg Warren School District, met recently with students and teachers at RCEC to get feedback on the changes. He said what he heard was not a surprise.

“We had some great meetings,” he said. “I think we addressed their concerns and helped to reassure them that just because there are some changes, the quality and the services will not be affected. All of that is still a priority.”

River City Early College was established eight years ago with the mission of guiding students through high school and the completion of associate’s degrees from Hinds Community College. It is led by principal Dr. Kenitra Ezi.

“We are working with the principal, the counselor and we’re going to bring in a consultant to help us develop a comprehensive program that will include working with those juniors and seniors around the services they have been receiving,” Holloway said.

Among recent changes are staffing. RCEC Counselor Marian Richardson, senior class advisor Amber Davis and junior class advisor Camille Buxton all are no longer working at the school, changes likely prompted by what Holloway has said is reshuffling of personnel to fill needs across the district.

With the change, Holloway said the junior and senior class advisors will be replaced with an “advisoree” system, which Holloway described as a committee that will help students prepare for college. The new system will be implemented district-wide, he said.

“To me, ‘advisor’ signals that there is one person,” he said. “They’ll have that class (level), but it may include a team of people and not just one person.”

Holloway said services such as meeting with parents about FAFSA (Free Application for Student Aid) and deadlines for applications will still be available. He also said the district would be asking more of Hinds’ advisors, increasing their involvement with RCEC students. It was not clear if ACT prep would still be offered as part of RCEC services.

“There may be a change in the approach to how we provide services in regard to scholarships and things like that, but services will not be reduced,” he said. “We pay a pretty good amount of money to Hinds. Hinds needs to be involved with the scholarships and the long-term counseling and career planning for these students as well. It shouldn’t all be on VWSD. We pay a lot of money for that program; they need some skin in the game as well.”

As far as other services at the school, Holloway said they would “not be disrupted.”

“We just spent $2.1 million remodeling The Village,” he said. “We wouldn’t do that if we were intending to change the program.”

Holloway said The Village is a gathering place for students in a remodeled building near the Hinds campus that was formerly used by district employees. It offers a gathering place for junior and senior students who have completed their high school courses and are completely enrolled in classes at Hinds while in between classes on the Hinds campus.Two rooms have also been added for distance learning. Holloway also said there were no plans to discontinue use of the current RCEC building on the Hinds campus.

Holloway emphasized the need for change and improvement at RCEC and across the district.

“The largest room in the world is room for improvement,” he said. “Again, it’s about building systems that outlast, because names are going to change, times will change, finances change … We’re putting standard operating procedures in place for all of our departments around services, so when the names change, those services don’t decrease and we’re not dependent on people. We’re dependent on the system and the processes. People influence that, but there needs to be something in place.

“We have needs district-wide,” he continued. “My job is to ensure that all of our students get the basics and have a quality educational experience. So, we have some needs that support RCEC. We have to make sure we’re doing a good job in our elementaries, our middle schools, with laying the foundation for students to be able to go to RCEC.”

Holloway said he wanted to make sure community members knew that RCEC remains “important” while understanding the need for “flexibility.”

“We will continue to support the program and continue to try and make it better while doing the best job we can for the district as a whole,” he said. “There have been other schools where changes have been made. As educators, here is what we know, and every educator will tell you this — the one thing you have to do to be in education is be flexible. That’s not always comfortable and people don’t always understand the decisions you have to make, but I am simply trying to do what’s best for the district as a whole. I am accountable for all the schools, not just one. That’s not to say that one school is any less important than the other. It’s a balancing act.”

When asked what he would say to community members who are upset about some of the recent changes, especially personnel, Holloway said “the program will continue.”

“We will always look for ways to improve the program,” he said. “We will always look for ways to be efficient with what we have. Given the current circumstances with the teacher shortage, we’ll continue to support the program and ensure that our kids are successful and the program is successful just like it’s always been. It may look different at times, but we are going to take care of our students.”

Holloway was part of a consolidation of schools in Starkville, and is familiar with the emotion of major change in the district, he said. 

“The one thing that is good about that (emotion) is that our parents care about the education of their students. I’ve learned to appreciate that. It’s better than nobody saying anything at all because that means people don’t care. We hope that they will trust us to do what’s best for the students. Some things we can share and some personnel issues we can’t speak on.”

Holloway said the administration will continue to share information with students and parents throughout the process of change.

“We will involve the kids at RCEC once the teachers that are involved have planned out activities,” he said. “The kids will be involved in finalizing everything to make sure we have their input. School is about the kids. The teachers, principal and counselor (at RCEC) have plans and the kids will have their input to make sure they continue to receive the services they need and want.”

Editor’s Note: Read more about overall changes at RCEC here. Read more about how the district handles staff departures here.