The Lincoln County Mississippi Scholars program has spread todizzying heights in recent years, and now there’s nowhere else forit to go but down – down into the lower grades.

Beginning next week, the highly successful program that promotesacademic success among high school students will welcome its firstspin-off, a similar project for fifth- and sixth-graders at LipseySchool called Lipsey Rising Scholars. The new program aims to beginpreparing younger students far in advance for the rigorous academicrequirements of Mississippi Scholars students on the high schoollevel, building a foundation of stronger students who can passmuster and head off to college or career armed with extraknowledge.

“We’re looking to show our kids that in order to get ready forcollege, you’ve got to start now, at the elementary level. Youcan’t wait until you get to high school to build on youreducational base,” said Lipsey School Principal Rob McCreary. “Ifyou don’t have a good foundation beneath your house, it’s going tocrumble.”

The traditional Mississippi Scholars program encourages highschool students to undergo more rigorous coursework, participate incommunity service and adhere to other advanced academic guidelinesin exchange for recognition on college transcripts and thepossibility for scholarships.

Lipsey Rising Scholars will follow a similar path, thoughdiplomas and scholarships for fifth- and sixth-grade students arestill years away. McCreary said his school’s fledgling scholarsprogram would establish an honors program for students who excel onthe Mississippi Curriculum Test, Second Edition, maintain a highgrade point average and follow through on at least two hours ofcommunity service.

The program’s incentives are still being discussed, McCrearysaid, with one likely year-end reward coming as a free daylongfield trip to tour Copiah-Lincoln Community College and get theinside track on college preparation.

Approximately 80 Lipsey students are expected to participate inthis year’s group, McCreary said. But the number of grade schoolscholars around Lincoln County will likely grow significantly overthe next year or so, as similar programs for even younger studentsare being planned for Brookhaven Elementary School and Mamie MartinElementary School.

The focus of similar scholars programs operating below thefifth-grade level is expected to be on involving parents, notnecessarily on the students themselves.

The young scholars program will likely spread to county schoolsas well – especially to Bogue Chitto Attendance Center, where oneof the program’s most vocal supporters is in charge. Bogue ChittoPrincipal Dr. Stacy Adcock doesn’t want to stop at fifth-grade – hewants a Mississippi Scholars-type program operating from thekindergarten level on up.

“Every year our kindergarten teachers meet with the newkindergarten parents … I think it would be a great time forMississippi Scholars to come in and talk to the parents,” he said.”Catch them right there at kindergarten and explain to them,’You’re going to lay down, go to sleep and when you wake up,they’re going to be juniors and seniors.’ When the child looks atyou and says, ‘Hey, I want to go to college,’ then what have youdone to prepare for it?”

Adcock believes pitching college preparation to the students ofyoung parents would be effective. And besides, it would make forthe easiest pitch a Scholars presenter has ever done.

“It is so easy to get a group of kindergarten parents to meetwith you,” he said. “They’re nervous about their kids going toschool and excited all at once, and they’ll meet with you.”

Kay Burton, program director for the Brookhaven-Lincoln CountyChamber of Commerce, said the spread of Mississippi Scholars tolower grades would help correct a weakness the program has battledwith since its inception – the difficulty of presenting collegeinformation to parents.

“(High school parents) don’t attend open houses like they do atthe elementary ages. It’s harder to get that information to theparents, and sometimes, by the time students are sophomores orjuniors, it’s too late to make up for lost time,” she said.

The expansion of Mississippi Scholars-type programs intoelementary and middle school grades is expected to make thethriving high school project’s membership skyrocket. The program iscoming off its most successful year yet, with 96 seniors countywidereceiving a combined $106,000 in scholarships to almost every majorMississippi college while 168 seniors total received the program’sseal on their diplomas.

With students getting involved in the program from kindergartenonward, Mississippi Scholars will have more students, need morescholarships to distribute and more money to fund them.

“We’ve gone from fishing in the pond to fishing in the lake,”said program fundraising chairman David Culpepper.