The Choctaw Tribal School System is a school system based in the community of

Choctaw The Choctaw (in the Choctaw language, Chahta) are a Native American people originally based in the Southeastern Woodlands, in what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Their Choctaw language is a Western Muskogean language. Today, Choctaw people are ...

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

(US). An entity operated by the federally recognized

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians ( cho, Mississippi Chahta) is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw Native Americans, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe organized under the Indian Re ...

, the district consists of eight schools in three counties: Neshoba, Leake, and

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

. It has a total enrollment of 1,700 to 1,800 students. It is the largest unified and locally controlled Indian school system in the United States. It is affiliated with the

Bureau of Indian Education The Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), headquartered in the Main Interior Building in Washington, D.C., and formerly known as the Office of Indian Education Programs (OIEP), is a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior under the Assistant S ...

(BIE). The current Director of Schools is Mr. Terry Ben. All eight schools are Title I schools with a majority of students being bilingual, speaking both

and English. The

National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance ...

classifies the school system and its schools as public.

Accreditation

The Choctaw Tribal School System and its schools are accredited by the

Mississippi Department of Education The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is the state education agency of Mississippi. It is headquartered in the former Central High School Building at 359 North West Street in Jackson. The State Superintendent of Education is Carey M. Wr ...

, as well as by the

Southern Association of Colleges and Schools The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) is an educational accreditor recognized by the United States Department of Education and the Council for Higher Education Accreditation. This agency accredits over 13,000 public and priv ...

Eligibility

Students must belong to a recognized Native American tribe and be, at minimum, one-fourth Native American to attend the schools.

Dormitory

The system operates a dormitory for its secondary students who do not live in the Pearl River area. It is called the Choctaw Central Dormitory, and takes students in grades 7-12.

Schools

* Bogue Chitto Elementary School (Grades PK-8) * Choctaw Central High School (Grades 9-12) *Choctaw Central Middle School (Grades 7-8) * Conehatta Elementary School (Grades PK-8) * Pearl River Elementary School (Grades PK-6) *

Red Water ''Red Water'' is a 2003 American made-for-television horror film starring Lou Diamond Phillips, Kristy Swanson, Gideon Emery and Coolio. When former oil rig worker turned fishing captain John Sanders (Lou Diamond Phillips) agrees to help when ...

Elementary School (Grades PK-8) * Standing Pine Elementary School (Grades PK-6) *

Tucker Tucker may refer to: Places United States * Tucker, Arkansas * Tucker, Georgia * Tucker, Mississippi * Tucker, Missouri * Tucker, Utah, ghost town * Tucker County, West Virginia Outer space * Tucker (crater), a small lunar impact crater in the s ...

Elementary School (Grades PK-8)

Notable visitors

*In 1969 and later in 1971, Congressman G.V. "Sonny" Montgomery, who served in the U.S. House of Representatives 1967–1997, visited Choctaw Central High School. During his senior year in high school,

Marcus Dupree Marcus L. Dupree (born May 22, 1964) is a former American football player. He was born and grew up in Philadelphia, Mississippi, where his playing in high school attracted national attention. A highly touted and sought-after college football re ...

rushed for 1,955 yards with 26 touchdowns. On November 13, 1981, Dupree's final high school game was at Choctaw Bowl at Choctaw Central High School's Warriors Stadium. He broke a record on yards rushed. Willie Morris, author, described the audience as "the most distinctive crowds I had ever seen ... four thousand or so people seemed almost an equal of a mix of whites, blacks, and Indians ... After Marcus scored his touchdown, id Saltersaw

Cecil Price Cecil Ray Price (April 15, 1938 – May 6, 2001) was accused of the murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner in 1964. At the time of the murders, he was 26 years old and a deputy sheriff in Neshoba County, Mississippi. He was a member of the W ...

Sr. who was ... 'jumping up and down and cheering as hard as anyone ... ain't that a kick in the pants?'" In a separate visit in 1983, Dupree came to the school for one-on-one sessions with students. In 1985, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, a member of the Kennedy family and founder of the Special Olympics, spoke and praised the school's involvement with the "Let's Play to Grow" program. In the mid-1990s, Billy Mills, the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal, spoke to the school body. In 2000, John Herrington, the first Native American

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research. NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...

astronaut, visited the campus. He flew his first space mission two years later as a mission specialist aboard STS-113. In 2008,

Rodney A. Grant Rodney Arnold Grant (born March 9, 1959) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as "Wind In His Hair" (Lakota: ''Pahíŋ Otȟáte'') in the 1990 film ''Dances with Wolves''. Grant, a Native American, was raised on the Omaha Reservat ...

, a Native American actor famous for his role in the movie '' Dances with Wolves,'' visited the campus.

References

External links

Choctaw Tribal Schools
– Official site.
Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians
– Official site. {{Authority control Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians Public schools in Mississippi Education in Neshoba County, Mississippi Education in Newton County, Mississippi Education in Leake County, Mississippi Public boarding schools in the United States Boarding schools in Mississippi Native American education