Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District implementing new district wide learning initiative
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (WXXV)- The Bay St. Louis-Waveland School District is starting the school year with a new initiative that brings traditional learning methods back to the classroom.
Class is back in session. This school year, the Bay Waveland School District is rewriting the lesson plan and taking learning back to the basics.
The new district-wide initiative for the 2026-2027 school year puts a greater focus on paper-and-pencil instruction, hands-on learning, and student engagement while still utilizing technology, but only when it supports the lesson. Superintendent Dr. Sandra Reed said, “We have done a pretty extensive look at the research around excessive screen time for students and we just kind of got to the tipping point where we said this is not great for kids. It’s certainly not in the best interest of their academic learning. We are a technologically based society and we’ve been very pleasantly surprised that our parents and community seem to be in complete support of the initiative to reduce screen time for students. So, we’re really anxious to see as the year goes on how that plays out.”
The district hopes this shift will help students develop stronger foundational skills, encourage more classroom participation, and create a more meaningful learning experience. Elementary School Teacher Robin Craft said, “I watched children learn without technology and now that there’s been an increased use of it, I witnessed a real decline in social and emotional skills in children. Especially the young children that I teach and I think that the implementation will help us provide more experiences where they have to work together and communicate with one another.”
Students across Mississippi are also adapting to a new statewide law under Senate Bill 2103, limiting unexcused absences to five per semester.
As students settle into a new school year, district leaders hope this new initiative sets them up for success because these students are the future.
