It has been said that the successes of the present are built on the events of the past. In keeping with this philosophy, the East Jasper School District remains dedicated in its pursuit of academic excellence and global citizenship for its school community.

Established in 1957, the district then had the distinction of serving approximately 1700 students yearly. Formerly known as South Side Consolidated High School, the East Jasper School District is situated on 40 acres in Heidelberg, Mississippi-a small town boasting a population of 840 proud citizens. Since then, the district has expanded from one combined elementary-secondary site to two beautiful campuses-William J. Berry Elementary School for grades K-6 and Heidelberg High School for grades 7-12. The student population is predominantly African-American with a gender ratio of 51% females to 49% males. Today more than 1200 students receive an education within on the East Jasper campuses.

Over the years the district has continued to make significant strides in overall school and district improvement. Most recently there has been a renewed commitment to increasing family involvement and to creating lasting and meaningful partnerships with the local community. Several new programs along with other existing ones have been implemented and will provide unlimited educational opportunities for East Jasper families and staff. Included in these programs are the East Jasper Family Resource Center, which offers educational resources for parents and provides parenting classes; East Jasper Teacher Resource Center; PAT (Parents as Teachers) program, which offers assistance to families with babies ages birth to three years; GED programs for students during the daytime and adults in the evening; MPAC (Motivating Parents and Children) after-school tutorial program for students in grades 5-8. In addition to these programs, there are after-school tutorial programs for students in grade K-4 and two full-time nurses and one part-time nurse as well as a part-time Violence Intervention Specialist employed by the district. East Jasper is also a Tech Prep site.

In the new millennium, East Jasper's sights remain focused on successfully achieving the goals that have been set for student achievement, professional growth of staff members, and extensive family and community collaboration. The realization of these goals represents a great challenge for East Jasper as for other districts around the state. The administration and staff remain confident of reaching their goals and reaching a rewarding outcome for the students in the district.

Selection Process

The selection process for the William J. Berry Tech Team was one that had to reflect the ideas and beliefs that education and technology are tools used to boost student intellect. The criteria used were:

• teacher recommendations
• ability to communicate effectively
• grades
• behavior
• compatible class schedule
• parental permission

Responsibilities

The William J. Berry Tech Team members meet on a daily basis at the school. Members assist in troubleshooting, computer maintenance, instructional classroom support, digital photos, bookmarking web sites, record keeping, and generally helping with the laptop and technology support carts. In addition to these activities, the Tech Team members must be willing to learn about software and hardware in order to provide assistance to teachers throughout the school. Duties are assigned by ability in which a more experienced member is paired with a less experienced member. Each week, the Technology Facilitator selects a Tech Team Member of the Week and that individual is given an award for displaying outstanding work.