This morning we’ll visit with JMCSS School Board Vice Chairwoman Debbie Gaugh and we’ll also visit with a star student from Jackson-Academic STEAM Academy.

A trio of North Side High School students who attended the Tennessee FCCLA State Leadership Conference has qualified for the National FCCLA Leadership Conference! We'll catch up with North Side FCCLA advisor Kimba A. Sears and two standout students to recap the big event. Family, Career and Community Leaders of America (FCCLA) is a national Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO) for students enrolled in Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) education programs at public and private schools. FCCLA offers intracurricular resources and opportunities for students pursuing careers that strengthen families.

Superintendent Marlon King and our school board continue to move with a unified purpose to complete capital improvements scheduled in the CommUNITY Project.

Those improvements include: 

• Malesus STEM Innovation Center, which opened in August. 
• A multipurpose artificial turf field and track and field facility adjacent to historic Oman Arena, which is set to open during the 2025-2026 school year.
• And, the construction of a Prek-8 school to replace Pope Elementary in northwest Jackson that’s been standing in its current location since 1949; The new Pope School is scheduled to open in August.

And that is where we find the theme of today’s episode. Tracey Vowell, principal of Pope School, joins us to discuss the move to the new campus. Ebony Pugh - school counselor and Kaitlyn Tidwell - school counselor