Jacket News

Through the hard work of our faculty and staff, our administrators and most of all – our students, the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District has earned an “A” on Mississippi’s school accountability ratings released this fall. This A-rating reflects the shared work of our schools, our families and our partners to create and achieve the very best for our boys and girls. Today and for their future. Listen in as community leaders and district staff talk about the importance of this A-rating to the Jacket Family and the entire Starkville/Oktibbeha community.

From MakerSpaces and field trips to job shadowing and Academic Houses, the foundation of the Starkville Oktibbeha School District's strategic approach to career exploration begins with our youngest Yellow Jackets and prepares students through experiences at each PreK-12 level to achieve success after high school. Learning experiences are designed to ignite their dreams and expose students to the possibilities available as they explore the question, "what do I want to be when I grow up?".

Retired Starkville Fire Chief, Charles Yarbrough with SHS Football Assistant Coach William Stewart

SHS Football "Character Wednesdays" Builds a Different Kind of Off-Season Strength

April 16, 2025

The off-season for a high school football team is more than building speed and strength...

Yellow Jacket Assistant Boys Soccer Coach Michael Adams (left) and Head Boys Soccer Coach Evinn Watson (right) have been selected to coach the North Half of the 2025 Randy West Boys Soccer All-Star Game.

Jacket Boys Soccer Coaching Staff to Coach 2025 All-Star Game

March 27, 2025

Starkville High School Boys Soccer Head Coach, Evinn Watson, has been selected along wi...

Jacket Wrestling Takes Eight to State

February 13, 2025

The Yellow Jacket varsity Boys and Girls wrestling squads travel to the MHSAA State Ind...

Jacket Athletics Names John Carr as New Head Football Coach

February 10, 2025

"He's an outstanding, classy guy –– a high character guy," said Jacket Director of Athletics, Jay Hopson. "He'll be blessed to have some really gifted athletes here at Starkville, and offense is key in facing the level of competition we see consistently in the 7A classification. I'm confident he'll be able to expand our tradition of developing players into strong collegiate prospects."

The band of brothers is staying together: SHS sees five sign with HCC on National Signing Day

February 5, 2025

"I'd like to thank my teammates and my coaches –– my mom and the r...

SOCSD Names Jay Hopson as Athletics Director

February 4, 2025

Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District has named Jay Hopson as the new Director of Athletics, overseeing the administration and operation of a program which encompasses 19 sports for 7th through 12th graders, a coaching staff of more than 80 and over 600 student athletes. "Jay is a proven leader," says SOCSD Superintendent Dr. Tony McGee. "He brings a wealth of experience as a player, coach and administrator to our Athletics program that I believe will position our coaches, teams and students for success. We are excited about the future of Jacket Athletics under his leadership and look forward to him taking our programs to a new level of excellence."