MAIS realignment and... junior high football schedules?

[Maroon Eagle]

MAIS finally announced their realignment late last month.

Link: Here.

They also provided a link to junior high football schedules. One thing I noticed is that Manchester is playing 11-man football in junior high in 2021 so maybe they'll go back to the 11-man game for grades 9 - 12 in 2023?

Link to that: Here.

 

[GloryDawg]

That's just a little too much.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

That's just a little too much.

No such concept exists in the MAIS. It's their raison d'être.

 

[blackjackdog3]

MAIS has turned into schools that recruit and schools that don’t. There’s no enforcement of rules regarding recruiting. It’s in almost every sport in the MAIS.

 

[jethreauxdawg]

Oooh, that sounds good

It's their raison d'être.

I’ll have some of that

 

[vhdawg]

I wonder why there's so few MAIS schools in the northeastern corner of the state. There's almost nothing up there. You'd think Tupelo would have something and yet....

 

[615dawg]

I wonder why there's so few MAIS schools in the northeastern corner of the state. There's almost nothing up there. You'd think Tupelo would have something and yet....

Tupelo, and by extension the northeastern part of the state, has been excellent in promoting public schools as a cornerstone of the community. Drive through any part of Tupelo and you see houses with blue flags and golden Ts on them. Those communities love their schools and rally around them.

Tupelo Christian Prep exists in Belden, but they compete in the MHSAA.

 

[paindonthurt_]

If you had a decent public school in amite county, you wouldn’t have Amite school center.

That’s just an example.

The northeast part of the state has many good public schools.

 

[PineGroveBully]

Tupelo Christian getting to recruit Lee County yet compete against 1A schools isn’t right and should have been fixed years ago. But I guess with the lack of other MAIS schools they’ve no one left to play.

 

[garddog]

MAIS has turned into schools that recruit and schools that don’t. There’s no enforcement of rules regarding recruiting. It’s in almost every sport in the MAIS.

They all recruit, it has been going on since most were founded. I was recruited and turned an academy down in 1987.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

Hartfield is spending money like a drunken sailor. Is there enough demand in the area for four $10k-$15k/year schools, long term? Especially when these schools are mostly competing against NWR, MC and Germantown (good public schools)?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Sorry, it’s not cinnamon raison. **

 

[philduckworth]

Hartfield is spending money like a drunken sailor. Is there enough demand in the area for four $10k-$15k/year schools, long term? Especially when these schools are mostly competing against NWR, MC and Germantown (good public schools).

Seems like Hartfield is really growing. They have a very good baseball program.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

They need 5 classes, not 6. They need the next 4 biggest 5A schools to group with the 6 6A schools to make 5A. Tell those 4 biggest current 5A schools to suck it up, go recruit some studs like Greenville Christian did from Greenwood and get after it. That way all 10 largest schools play each other and 2 other games for a 11 game schedule. There are some MAIS schools that are close enough to merge in some of the smaller locations. 6 schools in one class is dumb.

 

[PineGroveBully]

When did Mississippi go to 6 classes? Pretty sure there were only 5 when I played in the 90’s.

 

[DesotoCountyDawg]

I’m pretty sure it was only 4 in the 90s.

 

[Leeshouldveflanked]

NE Mississippi has some very good public schools.... really no need for private schools up here...

 

[dorndawg]

I wonder why there's so few MAIS schools in the northeastern corner of the state. There's almost nothing up there. You'd think Tupelo would have something and yet....

 

[dickiedawg]

It's interesting to me that some schools are in different classifications for football vs. all other sports. Lee (AR) is 1A in football, 3A in everything else. What's the justification for that?

 

[mdm3045]

It's interesting to me that some schools are in different classifications for football vs. all other sports. Lee (AR) is 1A in football, 3A in everything else. What's the justification for that?

8 man football

 

[johnson86-1]

They all recruit, it has been going on since most were founded. I was recruited and turned an academy down in 1987.

They really don't. Most private schools struggle to make ends meet. It's really shocking that any of them recruit. Why pay for somebody else to go to school to take the spots of people actually paying to be there?

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Football is aligned differently than other sports. MAIS only counts male students for football.

MAIS also went down to five classes in most sports (football is an exception with six classifications).

 

[randystewart]

The problem with fewer classifications is that the bigger schools are MUCH bigger than the next tier down. Starkville Academy is a decent sized private school and the Jackson area private schools have more than double the average class size. For instance, I think Jackson Prep averages about 140 per class, while SA jumps to around 70 in 7-12. SA is much smaller than that in K-6 at around 50 per class. Every year a bunch of parents move their kids to SA in the 7th grade to get out of the public schools so that creates a sizable waiting list but SA caps the class sizes at around 70.
As to the lack of private schools in NE Mississippi, whoever posted the demographics map tells you all you need to know. Tupelo Public Schools are 50% white, Starkville Public Schools are 27% white.

 

[patdog]

More like 5 or 6 with St. Andrews and St. Joe. And yes, the demand is there. I know quite a few people who feel that MC and Germantown are just "too big" and like the smaller school environment for their kids. And I know some others who won't say it, but think their kids are too good for a public school. And Hartfield is being subsidized by Pine Lake, so there's no danger of that money running out any time soon.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Here's the answer: Scholarship students are not taking the spots of people paying to be there.

Private schools want to be bigger because increased enrollment means that schools are healthier and won't struggle. Investments in students attending private schools serve to attract other students and more importantly their parents who don't want their children to attend struggling schools-- private or public.

 

[Faustdog]

Seems like Hartfield is really growing. They have a very good baseball program.

They are busting at the seams even with the new building. Tons of positive momentum there. There was opportunity for recruiting in 2020 due to Covid and JPS shutting down sports. Hartfield treaded lightly there when some others didn't.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

MAIS went along with your advice for the most part this go-around. Most sports have five classes. Football is an exception with six and there are others (soccer has three classes for example).

 

[Bill Shankly]

NE Mississippi has some very good public schools.... really no need for private schools up here...

Yep, and we support them well. This region chose a different path in the late 60's and early 70's than the rest of the state.

 

[GloryDawg]

They really don't. Most private schools struggle to make ends meet. It's really shocking that any of them recruit. Why pay for somebody else to go to school to take the spots of people actually paying to be there?

The schools don't recruit or pay the tuition. It's individual boosters who want their team to be good. It is under the table. JA does give academic scholarships and those kids can play sports but they don't cut them any slack. If their grades drop they are out. My brothers three kids went to Starkville Academy for free because his son was good in football. That money was under the table. A booster approach him and ask could his son go to Starkville Academy and my brother said he did not have the money. The booster said you would not have to pay anything. My brother said I want all three of my kids to go to school together. The booster said ok. They all went.

 

[Maroon Eagle]

Recruiting can be and most often is as innocuous as teachers and administrators talking to and answering questions from prospective students and their parents about what their schools are like, which I've experienced several times.

 

[Faustdog]

I’m pretty sure it was only 4 in the 90s.

It was only 3 in the nineties.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

Yeah. You have to love the code words (good public schools) and intentional ignorance/virtue signaling.

 

[randystewart]

It is easy to say that y'all chose a different path, but honestly it is mostly based on poverty demographics. Like it or not, parent involvement is key to a school system's success and poorer parents are likely to be uninvolved and not expect anything out of their kids academically. Students succeed largely when there is something expected of them at home and they are held accountable by parents. Obviously this isn't an absolute, but generalizations are there for a reason.

 

[Russ Wheeler]

The big private schools need to compete in the public divisions, or need to travel out of state. I mean what has Prep won if they win a state title? Makes no sense.

 

[greenbean.sixpack]

More like 5 or 6 with St. Andrews and St. Joe. And yes, the demand is there. I know quite a few people who feel that MC and Germantown are just "too big" and like the smaller school environment for their kids. And I know some others who won't say it, but think their kids are too good for a public school. And Hartfield is being subsidized by Pine Lake, so there's no danger of that money running out any time soon.

Wow! My kids went to area public schools, scored 30+ on the ACT and got full scholarships, i don't see how they could have done that much better if I had spent $100k plus on tuition for 7 years at Prep. Although I'm sure there are some great achievers who graduate from Prep, JA, St Andrews, etc., most of the ones I know have average jobs.

If Pinelake is funneling "tithe" money to Hartfield, that should be a wake up call to those giving to the church. I realize that Hartfiled was formed by the merger of Pinelake Christian School and University Christian, but the church partly funding the school (and the crazy spending) would give me pause if I was still giving to Pinelake.

 

[johnson86-1]

Here's the answer: Scholarship students are not taking the spots of people paying to be there.

Private schools want to be bigger because increased enrollment means that schools are healthier and won't struggle. Investments in students attending private schools serve to attract other students and more importantly their parents who don't want their children to attend struggling schools-- private or public.

I didn't mean take their spot in the class room. I meant take their spot on the field/court. And I'm talking less about Prep/JA/MRA than the rest of MAIS. They are competing with each other and Madison nonJPS public schools and recruiting in the sense you are talking about is important and maybe paying to have more competitive athletic teams makes sense (I'm still skeptical, but maybe; I can see it more for baseball and football, where lots of students might think they can come be a part of the program than Basketball, where not more than 4 or 5 people in any grade will be a big contributor).

But much of MAIS just exists to provide an adequate education where the public schools don't. It's amazing that boosters at those schools spend any money on recruiting when so many of their families are struggling to pay tuition.

 

[LawDawg97]

They are not

If Pinelake is funneling "tithe" money to Hartfield, that should be a wake up call to those giving to the church.

certainly don't think they would be "funneling" tithe money unless it was a clear line item to assist the school in areas similar to what they were doing before the merger. I wouldn't insinuate anything underhanded was going on with tithe money though. Growth in the student body and private donors is why that school is growing. Congrats on your kids' ACT scores. I'll tell my Prep friends they are destined for average jobs.**

 

[dorndawg]

Yeah. You have to love the code words (good public schools) and intentional ignorance/virtue signaling.

 

[Bill Shankly]

It is easy to say that y'all chose a different path, but honestly it is mostly based on poverty demographics. Like it or not, parent involvement is key to a school system's success and poorer parents are likely to be uninvolved and not expect anything out of their kids academically. Students succeed largely when there is something expected of them at home and they are held accountable by parents. Obviously this isn't an absolute, but generalizations are there for a reason.

If you think there wasn't and isn't widespread poverty in NE MS you know very little of the region.

 

[patdog]

Just to be clear, I don't have any actual knowledge of Pinelake funneling money to Hartfield. But I'd be shocked if it's not happening.