With more than fifteen different courses, a student-teacher ratio of 2.5 to 1, and some of the most talented young teachers in the country, MTC Summer School at Holly Springs High School provides a second-to-none educational opportunity for all participants at an extremely reasonable $150 per session.  Now in its second year, MTC Summer School includes free breakfast, lunch, and after-lunch clubs like fitness, drama, choir, sewing, and ACT-prep for college-bound students.  Dr. Ann Monroe from the Ole Miss School of Education calls it “an invaluable experience for our MTC candidates.  These new teachers have been able to make a difference in the lives of middle and high school students, while at the same time sharpening their own teaching skills.”

(Second-Year Ashley Johnson and Student)

Each course is staffed by 3-5 instructors, collaborating on daily lessons and weekly plans to ensure a rounded curriculum, satisfying state frameworks and catering to a variety of learning styles and student needs.  From registration to administration, evaluation and detention, a dozen experienced, credentialed, and exceptional MTC alumni oversaw the planning and execution of daily operations with assistance from Holly Springs’ own Principal John Chase, Irene Walton from Holly Springs School District, and Jerry Moore from Marshall County School District.

Students received unmatched instruction in small group settings from teachers preparing to spend the 2007-2008 school year in schools throughout the Mississippi Delta and in Jackson.  Small class sizes meant individualized instruction, far fewer disruptions, and a focus on content mastery.  Teachers, too, received daily feedback and evaluations on content delivery, expertise, and effectiveness toward the aim of filling Mississippi public schools with the best-trained and most reflective educators in the country.  Taking a break from his research paper, rising sophomore and current Student of the Week, Ricky Holmes remarked, “Ernest Hemingway is like me: he loves hunting, fishing, the outdoors.  He was in the Army, and that’s what I want to try to do before I start my own business [in construction or trucking].  He’s just an all out person…  [Summer school] is awesome because it’s helping me learn how to write better, learn new words, and to comprehend.  I get to meet some new kids, make new friends, meet new teachers, and learn a whole lot more than I really did in regular school.”

(Mr. Zarandona Takes A Break)