Brown Elementary School fifth graders spent time at Millsaps College, including a tour of the Lewis Art Gallery, as part of PPS Jackson's Ask for More Arts collaborative. Fox 40 reporter Justin Barnes wrote and aired a piece about the Brown Elementary School project.

The project with fifth graders included a JumpstART residency with Jackson artist George Miles (pictured left), in which students learned about the past and present, and created a vision for the future, of North Midtown.

During the visit to Millsaps, college students served as tour guides of the art gallery, science labs, and other facilities. Students also went to Smith Robertson Museum and 121 Studios.

Wilbur Walters recalls the days when principals in Jackson Public Schools were more interested in competing than cooperating. But that was before Ask for More.

In 1999, the elementary and middle schools feeding students into Lanier High School, had the lowest test scores in JPS. Now, ten years later, all but two of the schools are at or above the district average with three of the elementary schools reaching the highest achievement level in the state accountability system. The graduation rate has increased from 54% to 77%. And in these same schools, the overall proficiency rate for students taking the statewide reading test is above the district average.

Brenda Walker realized that only 13 students at Hardy Middle School were enrolled in Algebra I.  Some parents might not have viewed this as low student achievement.  But Walker did.   She created “Parents are Part of this Equation” to work with families of Algebra I students to understand math concepts better and the value of taking higher level math.  The following year, 49 students enrolled in Algebra I with 100 percent of the class passing the Mississippi Algebra I test.  Walker became the Parent Coordinator at Hardy Middle School.   She started a mentoring program for girls and increased student participation in after school tutorials.

Parents for Public Schools of Jackson works to create change in ways that will last – change from the ground up.  The Parent Leadership Institute trains parents, such as Walker, to become advocates for excellence in education – with their children and their schools. The Institute teaches, encourages, and engages parents in their local schools because parents who feel connected to their schools are parents who are connected to their children and daily homework.

Ada Gater remembers the look on 10-year-old John Smith’s face when he finished his very first painting.

“There was a pride, a satisfaction that comes from the knowledge that you did something on your own – that it is yours,” recalls the Marshall Elementary teacher.  “It is one of the greatest joys I receive from teaching.”

For Gater and other teachers and principals on the front lines of education, there’s no convincing that the arts are not an “extra,” but an essential tool in their educational tool box. Just ask them.