The Choctaw Tribal School System is a school system based in the community of

Choctaw The Choctaw ( ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States, originally based in what is now Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. The Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choct ...

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

(US). An entity operated by the federally recognized

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians () is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw, an indigenous Indian people, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe was organized under the Indian Reorgan ...

, the district consists of eight schools in three counties: Neshoba, Leake, and

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: People * Newton (surname), including a list of people with the surname * ...

. It has a total enrollment of 1,700 to 1,800 students. It is the largest unified and locally controlled Indian school system in the United States. It is affiliated with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs that directs and manages education functions. Formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs ...

(BIE). The current Director of Schools is Mrs. Delnita Jones. All eight schools are

Title I The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) was passed by the 89th United States Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on April 11, 1965. Part of Johnson's " War on Poverty", the act has been one of the most far-re ...

schools with a majority of students being bilingual, speaking both

and English. The

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the principal federal agency responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on education in the United States. Established under , it operates within the Institute of Education S ...

classifies the school system and its schools as public.

Accreditation

The Choctaw Tribal School System and its schools are accredited by the

Mississippi Department of Education The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is the state education agency of Mississippi. It is headquartered in the former Central High School (Jackson, Mississippi), Central High School Building at 359 North West Street in Jackson, Mississip ...

, as well as by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is a regional educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. As of 2022, the organization oversees ap ...

Eligibility

Students must belong to a recognized Native American tribe and be, at minimum, one-fourth Native American to attend the schools.

Dormitory

The system operates a dormitory for its secondary students who do not live in the Pearl River area. It is called the Choctaw Central Dormitory, and takes students in grades 7-12.

Schools

* Bogue Chitto Elementary School (Grades PK-8) * Choctaw Central High School (Grades 9-12) *Choctaw Central Middle School (Grades 7-8) * Conehatta Elementary School (Grades PK-8) *

Pearl River The Pearl River (, or ) is an extensive river system in southern China. "Pearl River" is often also used as a catch-all for the watersheds of the Pearl tributaries within Guangdong, specifically the Xi ('west'), Bei ('north'), and Dong ( ...

Elementary School (Grades PK-6) *

Red Water ''Red Water'' is a 2003 American made-for-television horror film starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Kristy Swanson, Gideon Emery and Coolio. When former oil rig worker turned fishing captain John Sanders ( Lou Diamond Phillips) agrees to help when ...

Elementary School (Grades PK-8) * Standing Pine Elementary School (Grades PK-6) *

Tucker Tucker may refer to: Places United States * Tucker, Arkansas * Tucker, Georgia * Tucker, Mississippi * Tucker, Missouri * Tucker, Utah, ghost town * Tucker County, West Virginia Outer space * Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in ...

Elementary School (Grades PK-8)

Notable visitors

*In 1969 and later in 1971, Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives 1967–1997, visited Choctaw Central High School. During his senior year in high school,

Marcus Dupree Marcus L. Dupree (born May 22, 1964) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the United States Football League (USFL) and National Football League (NFL). Born and raised in Philadelphia, Mississippi, Dupre ...

rushed for 1,955 yards with 26 touchdowns. On November 13, 1981, Dupree's final high school game was at Choctaw Bowl at Choctaw Central High School's Warriors Stadium. He broke a record on yards rushed.

Willie Morris William Weaks Morris (November 29, 1934 – August 2, 1999) was an American writer and editor born in Jackson, Mississippi and raised in Yazoo City, Mississippi. Morris had a lyrical prose style which he lent to reflections on the American ...

, author, described the audience as "the most distinctive crowds I had ever seen ... four thousand or so people seemed almost an equal of a mix of whites, blacks, and Indians ... After Marcus scored his touchdown, id Saltersaw

Cecil Price Cecil Ray Price (April 15, 1938 – May 6, 2001) was an American deputy sheriff and member of the White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. He was a participant in the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964. While he was never charged with ...

Sr. who was ... 'jumping up and down and cheering as hard as anyone ... ain't that a kick in the pants?'" In a separate visit in 1983, Dupree came to the school for one-on-one sessions with students. In 1985,

Eunice Kennedy Shriver Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (née Kennedy, July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist. Shriver was a member of the Kennedy family by birth, and a member of the Shriver family through her marriage to Sargent Shriver, wh ...

, a member of the

Kennedy family The Kennedy family () is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from County Wexford, Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P ...

and founder of the Special Olympics, spoke and praised the school's involvement with the "Let's Play to Grow" program. In the mid-1990s,

Billy Mills William Mervin Mills (born June 30, 1938), also known by his Oglala Lakota name Tamakhóčhe Theȟíla, is an American Oglala Lakota former track and field athlete who won a gold medal in the 10,000 metre run (6.2 mi) at the 1964 Tokyo O ...

, the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, spoke to the school body. In 2000,

John Herrington John Bennett Herrington (Chickasaw Nation, born September 14, 1958) is a retired United States Naval Aviator, engineer and former NASA astronaut. In 2002, Herrington became the first enrolled citizen of a Native American tribe to fly in space. ...

, the first Native American

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut, visited the campus. He flew his first space mission two years later as a mission specialist aboard STS-113. In 2008, Rodney A. Grant, a Native American actor famous for his role in the movie '' Dances with Wolves,'' visited the campus.

References

External links

Choctaw Tribal Schools
– Official site.
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
– Official site. {{Authority control Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Public schools in Mississippi Education in Neshoba County, Mississippi Education in Newton County, Mississippi Education in Leake County, Mississippi Public boarding schools in the United States Boarding schools in Mississippi Native American boarding schools Native American schools