As Enterprise Attendance Center Principal Shannon Eubanks strolls across the campus of his school, he notices some things changing.

     Construction on a new gymnasium is ongoing, phasing out the aging facility currently used by the school. It’s another step toward upgrading infrastructure across the Lincoln County School District.

     But Eubanks sees something else, something beyond the physical walls and floors and buildings. He sees the academic gains the school has earned in the time since he came to Enterprise as principal in 2004.

     In his time at Enterprise thus far, Eubanks said he’s seen scores improve, graduation rates climb and community members and teachers adopt a unified vision of what the school can be.

     “Every good school comes from a good community,” Eubanks said. “Without that total buy-in, it’s not going to work. That really to me is the success story of Enterprise.”

 ��   When Eubanks took the reins at Enterprise, Mississippi was developing an accountability system for schools, placing schools on levels from one (low) through five (high).

     In advance of the first public release of ratings in 2004, the state gave private rankings to schools in 2002 and 2003.

     The news wasn’t positive for Enterprise. While other county schools were either performing well or improving, the Enterprise trend lines were negative.

     “Enterprise was showing signs of slipping,” Eubanks said.

     Digging into the problem, Eubanks said he determined much of the instruction at the school was focused only toward the goal of ensuring students graduated, with little attention paid to the scores students were earning on state tests – scores Eubanks said were some of the lowest in the area at the time in certain subjects.

     “That was a mindset problem,” Eubanks said. “I think it shocked people when the levels finally came out and we were level three. That was what we had tried to tell people. Good enough isn’t good enough.”

     Since then, Eubanks has made a concerted effort to make change and believes he’s seen it.

     By 2007, three of four subject areas at Enterprise had gone from below district average to above district average. The school grew from a level three to a level four school and was within reach of level five status.

     “We were able to say, ‘Look how far we’ve come,'” Eubanks said. “We moved into a position where we were a solid number two behind West Lincoln.”

     Then in 2008, the state adopted the “Star” through “Failing” labels and the ranking formula was altered. No more did the test scores alone matter, but how far the scores had grown over the previous year at a school would become a factor.

     In 2008, the school was ranked as successful, but as growth started to matter Enterprise dropped to academic watch.

     “It looked like that same boat back in 2004,” Eubanks said.

     However, as in 2004, the school has climbed back and shows strong promise. The most recent spate of rankings put Enterprise at High Performing, or a “B” on the newest set of ranking labels.

     The school has also seen steady improvement in its QDI – a number derived from student scores on state tests. The higher the number, the better the scores.

     “We’re the only school that improved our QDI every year,” Eubanks said. “West Lincoln has gone up and down, Bogue Chitto has gone up and down and leveled off, Loyd Star has gone up and down.”

     The school’s dropout rate also stands at 9 percent, the lowest in the area, Eubanks said.

     Meanwhile, average ACT scores by college prep students have risen from 17 to 19. A third of students graduating are honor students.

     Eubanks also highlighted the school’s robotics courses and AP biology courses.

     How did these changes happen? Not easily or quickly.

     “We’ve changed a lot of stuff in the last five years,” Eubanks said.

     First, Eubanks shook up his teaching staff.

     “I have brought in quality teachers that have cared about student improvement,” Eubanks said. “Our perception in the community was we had one or two good teachers and that was it. That was my biggest charge when I came here.”

     Eubanks emphasized that having “good” teachers isn’t enough or his goal. He’s looking for the teachers that go beyond what’s expected or even what’s “good.”

     “Our teachers work their tails off to reach everyone,” Eubanks said. “They care about the students and work hard.”

     The teachers aren’t the whole story, though, said the principal. He also highlighted the partnership between parents, community members and the school.

     “Enterprise is a family,” Eubanks said. “You can be a good teacher, but if you don’t buy into the family concept, you’re not going to make it at Enterprise.”

     And Eubanks certainly isn’t ready to rest on past successes. He’s only looking toward the future and further improvement at Enterprise.

     Said Eubanks, “It’s gone from being a pretty good school to something with the potential for greatness on the horizon.”