The Starkville Oktibbeha School was awarded a $1.5 million Learn More grant from the Mississippi Department of Education to address learning loss. The District will receive $500,000 per year for the next three years. The District's grant proposal centered around its modified academic calendar with two intersessions, including eight days in October and five days in March, to offer intensive, small group instruction. The grant allows the District to hire 60 teachers to work during intersessions at a rate of $35 per hour, and it also allows the District to serve 20 percent of its students who need real-time remediation to accelerate their learning during intersessions.
The Starkville Oktibbeha School District is one of only seven school districts to receive the highly competitive grant award. Three of the Districts who received the award have approved a modified calendar for the 2022-2023 school year.