VWSD reaches out to faith leaders to strengthen community ties

VICKSBURG, Miss. (VDN) — Superintendent Dr. Tori Holloway met last night with local pastors to strengthen ties between the Vicksburg Warren School District and the city’s faith-based community.
The gathering, part of a new initiative, aims to build communication and collaboration with the community, including churches whose members include many VWSD students.

“What we hope to do is meet with you all just four times a year, is all we’re asking for — 30 minutes to an hour to talk about issues, for us to share information with you, so you can take it back to the kids, because they’ll listen to you all better than they will Dr. McGee, Mr. Green and I,” said Holloway. “We want to show people that we are accessible, and we’re trying to involve the community in the things we’re doing.”

Holloway outlined the district’s new guiding theme — One Community, One District, Growing Together — which came from a strategic planning process launched last year. A key goal of that plan is to engage stakeholders more consistently and combat long-standing misperceptions.

“People think that certain schools aren’t good because of where they are and the kids who are there,” said Holloway. “We’ve got 16 great schools. Are we perfect? No.”

He pointed to Dana Road Elementary as an example.

“It’s an excellent school,” said Holloway. “But people are trying to get zone transfers to go to Beechwood, like Beechwood is the only good school in the Vicksburg Warren School District. We’ve got 10 outstanding elementary schools, and from this, we’re trying to overcome that reputation — which is why we want to give you information about what’s going on in those schools.”

Enrollment, Holloway said, has dipped slightly — primarily due to families moving out of state or into other districts. He added that VWSD’s per-student funding is equitable, with each school receiving $45 per student and high schools receiving slightly more to support expanded programming.

“This isn’t just about updates — it’s about partnership,” Holloway said. “We want you to feel informed and heard, and we want our students to know we’re united in supporting them.”

Holloway also noted progress in curriculum alignment, new student-led districtwide events, and increasing collaboration among teachers, saying it’s no longer about individual schools — it’s “all our kids.”

“This is why you’re here: strengthening community engagement and ownership. And I’ve got to do a better job with that,” said Holloway. “We’ve been working on fixing problems and processes behind the scenes. I hadn’t done as good a job as I could have with this.”

The district will host similar meetings with PTO leaders and other community partners in the coming weeks.