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South Delta Middle School is part of the South Delta School District that covers both Sharkey and Issaquena Counties in Mississippi. Incorporated in 1989, the high school and elementary schools are located in Rolling Fork, and the Middle School is located in Anguilla, which is just northeast of Rolling Fork in Sharkey County. The school district covers 828 square miles and serves students who come from more than a dozen small communities in the area.
Sharkey County became Mississippi's 72nd county. It was organized in 1876 and named for W. L. Sharkey who was appointed by President Andrew Johnson to serve as Mississippi's Provisional Governor in 1877. Anguilla itself was settled in 1869 by C. H. McKinney, who built a store and operated the post office in the settlement he called McKinneyville. The land on which the settlement was built was owned by Colonel S. W. Vick. He agreed to give land to the railroad for it to come through the area provided that the name of the settlement be changed to Anguilla, the name of his plantation, which was named after a snake found in South America. The town was incorporated in 1913. According to the 2000 census, Sharkey County has a population of approximately 6580, with 907 of those living in Anguilla.
Issaquena County is the least populous county in the state, with just under 1700 people living there according to the 1997-1998 Mississippi Almanac. Issaquena is an Indian word meaning "deer river." The land on which the county seat Mayersville is built was originally purchased from the government by James and William Guin in 1830. The town has had a series of names over the years including Gibson's Landing, Wadelawn, and Mount Level. Anguilla received its current name in 1872. Cotton was a major crop for the area, and Mayersville was a major shipping point until the railroad was built through the town in 1882. In the early years of the settlement, flooding frequently was a problem. All of the town's original homes built along the river were destroyed when the ground caved into the river during times of flooding.
For the most part, students who attend South Delta Middle School come from an agricultural background. Other major employers in the area are education and factories in nearby cities. There are 345 students attending the middle school who are taught by 21 teachers. Overall, South Delta School District has approximately 1600 students in grades P-12, ranking 149th out of 152 by size of the student population. There are approximately 102 teachers in the system, with an average student/teacher ratio of 15:1.
South Delta School District is actively involved in improving education for its students in order to prepare them for 21st century life. In addition to participation in the C·R·E·A·T·E for Mississippi project, South Delta School District is one of six Level I pilot school districts that are part of the Reading Sufficiency Program through the Mississippi Department of Education's Barksdale Reading Institute Reading Reform Model, and the district has received a Generation Connect! Technology Literacy Challenge Fund grant under the title "Technology, An Instructional Tool to Improved Teaching and Student Achievement." This project was designed to "enhance, accelerate and advance student achievement for seventh and eighth graders at South Delta Middle School" by increasing faculty competencies through professional development activities along with upgrading equipment and wiring and providing more educational software for use with students. South Delta Middle School continues in its third year in the CREATE program due to being awarded E2T2 funding for the 2003-2004 school year.
South Delta Middle School has an active Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) whose members support, volunteer, and mentor within the school system. Students at the middle school can participate in a variety of extracurricular activities including band, baseball, basketball, cheerleading, softball, track, and tennis. Organizations include National Honor Society, Future Farmers of America, and Sigma Beta Club. The school has set several goals for their students including the abilities to be self-directed learners, collaborative workers, complex thinkers, responsible citizens, and community members who work to improve the quality of life in their respective communities. For more information about schools in the district, access the school district's Web site at http://www.southdelta.k12.ms.us/.
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