Economic Development
Education
Two fully accredited elementary schools holding a level 3 and 4 state ranking and two fully accredited high schools holding a level 4 state ranking make up the Webster County School District. The Webster County Career and Technology Center is a public secondary vocational-technical center which serves the students of Webster County is also a part of the Webster County School District. In addition the Webster County Career and Technology Center works with Holmes Community College to provide Webster County residents and residents from surrounding counties with the opportunity to take college course at their facility after regular school hours.
Nearly 60% of the teachers in the Webster County School District have a master’s degree or higher, and many have received national board certification.
In 2005, 50% of Webster County students took the ACT with an average composite score of 19.2.
The Sumners Foundation
The Sumners Foundation is one of the largest private educational funds in the state. Virtually any student who is a resident of Webster County, passes the college entrance exam, and maintains a C average or better may receive tuition assistance at one of five institutions of higher learning in the state - Millsaps College, Holmes Community College, Mississippi State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Mississippi Medical School.
The State of Mississippi provides custom-designed pre-employment training, post-employment training, and upgrade/re-training services for new, expanding or existing industries. These programs are available through the Workforce Education Program, administered in Webster County by Holmes Community College. A variety of state, federal, and private funds are used to provide these cost-effective, efficient classes for individuals and businesses.
The pre-employment training program can be conducted at the plant site, at the Holmes Community College campus in nearby Grenada, in a mobile unit, or at another designated facility. Instructor costs are reimbursable and negotiated on an individual project basis. Costs for training materials in the pre-employment training program may also be reimbursed as a part of the negotiated agreement.
Upon completion of the pre-employment training program, the employer has the option of choosing which candidates he wishes to retain for employment. The costs of the training programs may vary depending upon the type of training requested. The cost of each program is negotiated based on required training needs of each industry.
A program that can be leveraged with the Workforce Education Program is the federal government’s Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Through WIA’s On-the-Job-Training Program, the employer may be reimbursed up to 50 percent of the wages for new workers for up to six months. When participants complete the training and enter unsubsidized employment, the employer may realize additional savings through a tax credit available under the Job Tax Credit Program. This assistance is provided through the Mississippi Development Authority.
The Manufacturing Extension Partnership of Mississippi (MEP) provides custom help for manufacturers. The MEP center, housed at the Mississippi Technology Alliance in Jackson, works with partner organizations (Holmes Community College, for example) to provide expertise and services tailored to the most critical needs of area manufacturers, ranging from process improvements and worker training to business practices and applications of information technology. Its Manufacturer Assessment Program provides a complete assessment of a manufacturer’s business and is free to Mississippi manufacturers. Services are not just limited to manufacturing process improvements but include environmental, safety, and human resources training.
Webster County is conveniently situated near several institutions of higher learning. Some of those located within a 30 minute to 1 hour drive include:
Holmes Community College serves a nine county area including Webster County, and offers Associates of Art, Associates of Applied Science, Certificates of Graduation, and one and two year certificates in vocational and technical education. HCC campus locations include Kosciusko, Grenada, Goodman and Ridgeland. Coordination of the Adult Basic Education and GED preparation classes is also provided through the Workforce Development Program housed in the Attala Educational Center.
Mississippi University for Women, located in Columbus, Mississippi is one of the highest rated academic institutions in the USA.
About 25 miles away, Mississippi State University excels in the areas of engineering and agricultural research and offers a superb education at the bachelor’s, master's and doctoral levels. It has eight academic divisions, and the Bagley College of Engineering ranks in the top 10% in the country in terms of research expenditures. The new Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems sets the standard for automotive research in North America.
The University of Mississippi, or more familiarly Ole Miss, is a close 60 miles from Webster County. Ole Miss is a research extensive, doctoral degree granting university with nine academic divisions on its main campus. Its medical center in Jackson leads the South in medical research. The university is eighth in the nation in the number of Rhodes Scholars it has produced. There have also been three Truman and three Goldwater Scholars since 1998 who have called Ole Miss their home.