Mississippi Superintendent of Education Lance Evans hits the ground running in first month

Lance Evans knew from Day 1 what he planned to do once he took over the helm of the state's Department of Education .

The Mantachie native brought with him a list of priorities to work on as the new school year unfolded, which included more support for low-performing school districts and strengthening or implementing workforce development programs. Evans also plans to address teacher shortages and restore faith in the public school system.

“Educating 21st-century students requires innovative approaches and a diverse range of strategies to ensure every student can succeed,” Evans said in a news release. “Success looks different for each student. It is our responsibility as educators to create multiple, flexible paths to achievement.

"All students deserve the opportunity to find their own route to success without encountering dead ends.”

The same can be said for underperforming schools and districts, Evans said. Through the MDE's Office of School and District Transformation, Evans plans to provide support to underperforming districts and help those districts improve student outcomes before a school or district gets to the point where a state takeover might be required.

"The goal is to create systems that are very proactive," Evans said. "In the past, the way the structure was set up, it was somewhat reactive from the department's standpoint. (A state takeover) is never the goal. You don't want to take away the local board's ability to help operate the school district."

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The Office of Career and Technical Education is going to be working with the districts that already have a CTE program in place and later implement the program in other districts. Workforce development would become a component of career and technical education, allowing students to seek internships through partnerships with private businesses.

"The expectations of the industry have evolved and we need to evolve in order to move forward," Evans said.

Some of his ideas have come from his experience as a local superintendent but also from hearing about others' experiences.

"It's having the heartbeat of the state, if you will, and knowing where the issues are," he said. "Lots of times you'll end up across every district with similar issues that are somewhat different but similar in nature. It's working with people and talking with people about what the issues are."

Looking beyond what happens while a student is in school is important, too, he said, giving workforce development as an example.

"If we can ensure their employability before they leave high school, we're not only helping our students, we're helping our region, our state," he said.

The State Board of Education chose Evans in December to take over as superintendent following the departure of Raymond Morgigno, who served as interim state superintendent for the past year. Evans' appointment was approved by the state Senate in March.

Evans has worked more than 24 years as an educator and administrator with Mississippi public schools, most recently serving as superintendent of New Albany School District, where he had worked for 18 years.

More: Reducing teacher shortage among top early goals for state superintendent Lance Evans

State Sen. Dennis DeBar, chair of the Senate Education Committee, said Evans' ability to see beyond the immediate need is what made him believe the state board chose the right person for the state superintendent role.

"One of the things I was looking for is someone who could build upon where we are and where we plan to be in five to 10 years and beyond," DeBar said.

Add to that the success he had with making improvements at the district level, and the choice seemed like a no-brainer.

Since 2017, when he was named superintendent at New Albany, the district received an A rating five years in a row, ranking in the state's top 10%. He implemented a workforce development program that included partnerships with private businesses.

But perhaps one of Evans' most impressive achievements was raising the New Albany district's graduation rate by 13.5% to 95.5%. Overall, the state's graduation rate is just under 90% — up from 86.5% in 2020.

"He has a track record of success in the (New Albany) school district," DeBar said. "Overall he did a great job. That was the key, I think. And he has the vision to take education even further and improve upon the successes that we've had in the past few years."

DeBar said he also was impressed with how many district superintendents in the state supported Evans' nomination, which is something that isn't seen very often.

"He had the full support and backing of superintendents throughout the state," DeBar said. "He brought to the table the ability to bring together big school districts, more populous city districts and the rural districts. None of them had anything negative to say about him. I guess that's kinda rare."

One way Evans is hoping to alleviate the teacher shortage is by bringing back teachers who have retired. He said the Legislature has worked to improve the state retirement system so teachers can return to the workforce, but there are still many obstacles that decrease the number of teachers willing to come out of retirement to teach again.

"I think that was a step in the right direction," he said. "I would like to see that become more user-friendly, but that's a step in the right direction. You've got to start somewhere."

Chronic absenteeism is an ongoing issue that Evans plans to keep working on, improving on what the MDE has already started.

"Our absenteeism rate is lower than in other states, but it is still too high for us," he said. "Absenteeism has always been an issue, but after the pandemic we really saw a huge increase in those numbers."

He said a statewide awareness campaign last year helped decrease the number of students who were chronically absent. The absenteeism rate was 28% in the 2021-22 school year. In the 2022-23 school year, the rate dropped to 23.9%.

"We will continue to do that this year," Evans said.

Evans' accolades include being named the 2023 Mississippi Superintendent of the Year and 2015 Mississippi Principal of the Year. He has served on the boards of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, the Mississippi Association of School Administrators and the Governing Board for the American Association of School Administrators. He is a member of the Rotary Club and Kiwanis Club.

Evans earned a Ph.D. from Delta State University, a master's degree from the University of Mississippi and a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University.

Evans and his wife Brandy have two children, Katie, a junior at Mississippi State University, and Landon, a sophomore at New Albany High School.

State Superintendent Lance Evans' primary goals

• Update the State Board Strategic Plan with stakeholder input to reflect current priorities for public education
• Restructure support for low-performing districts by establishing a department within the MDE to focus on improving student outcomes and preventing the need for a state takeover
• Integrate workforce development and career and technical education through strong partnerships between districts and private businesses and industries
• Examine the accountability system to incentivize districts’ focus on workforce development
• Address the teacher shortage by assisting districts with recruiting and retaining teachers
• Increase enrollment in public schools by creating equitable systems that attract families back to public education

Do you have a story to share? Contact Lici Beveridge at lbeveridge@gannett.com . Follow her on X  @licibev or Facebook at facebook.com/licibeveridge .

This article originally appeared on Hattiesburg American: Mississippi Superintendent of Education Lance Evans hits the ground running in first month