Starkville Oktibbeha County Consolidated School District Partnership School at Mississippi State to open August 2020

A long-awaited and innovative project is set to open August 2020.

Since it was first announced in 2015, the Starkville Oktibbeha County Consolidated School District Partnership School at Mississippi State University has been on track to become a unique and innovative school that will serve both middle school and college students. The school will serve every sixth and seventh grade student in the school district and will also be utilized as a demonstration site for teacher interns and faculty members in MSU’s College of Education. It will provide opportunities for the two entities work together to identify collaborative efforts in curriculum, instruction, assessment and evaluation.

The school will also be a research site on rural education geared to help Mississippi address challenges facing rural schools. Professional development opportunities for educators across the state will be an additional benefit of this initiative. 

“We want this to be a professional development school where we are preparing undergraduate teachers to be in the classroom, but we also want it to be an institute where we can bring middle teachers from all over the state in during the summer and provide them with professional development opportunities at the Partnership School and here on campus as well,” said Dr. Bob Fuller, College of Education Coordinator for the Partnership School.

Fuller, whose primary role will be to facilitate the work of university students coming into the school, explains that most of the College of Education’s Teacher Education junior and senior level courses will be taking place within the Partnership School. Students should be able to discuss theory with their professors and classmates, and then see it in practice within the walls of the building.

The 43-acre, university-donated school site is located on the MSU campus, near the university’s North Entrance at the intersection of George Perry Street and Highway 182. Funding for the $27.5 million school is provided by MSU and bond issues from the Mississippi Legislature and SOSD.

“This school, even though it is on Mississippi State’s campus, is going to be a Starkville Oktibbeha County Consolidated School District school that will be run by the school district. Mississippi State University will be there to supplement and to support them in their endeavors. One unique thing about this school is it is the only school in America located on a university campus that is inclusive of all students in that school district and that’s something we can be proud of,” said Fuller.

Flowood-based JH&H Architects is the design professional for the school, which will serve up to 1,000 students every year. The building will house seven MSU classrooms and several offices for MSU faculty. School plans, developed with extensive input from teachers, administrators and community stakeholders, include a gymnasium, media center, robotics classroom, science labs, music facilities and art classrooms, in addition to classrooms arranged in pods and equipped with the latest technology. The new building also will alleviate building capacity issues for SOSD, which was formed when the Starkville and Oktibbeha County school districts officially consolidated in 2015.

Classroom arrangements will allow MSU education students to observe teaching techniques without interrupting instruction, and the school’s design features spaces for rotating displays from MSU museums and galleries.