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HONORING QUITMAN COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT DR. EVELYN
WILKERSON JOSSELL
______
HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON
of mississippi
in the house of representatives
Monday, June 14, 2021
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor remarkable public servant, Dr. Evelyn W. Jossell.
Raised in Dublin and Clarksdale (Coahoma County) Mississippi, Dr. Jossell, born on September 4, 1958, is the sixth child of the late John and Annie Wilkerson. Dr. Jossell credits her passion for serving and working with people to her humble beginnings on a small farm in Dublin, Mississippi, where she was taught early to share and treat everyone as she desired to be treated.
Dr. Jossell attended and graduated as Salutatorian of Coahoma Agricultural High School in Coahoma County (1976). Next. she attended Coahoma Junior College where she graduated with an AS. Degree in General Business (1980). After completing her studies at Coahoma, Dr. Jossell attended Mississippi Valley State University where she graduated Magna Cum Laude in 1980, with a B.S. in Business Administration. At the age of 21, Dr. Jossell worked a short while at the Mississippi State Penitentiary and was later hired as a Social Worker with the Coahoma County Department of Human Services. Dr. Jossell worked as a Child Protective Social Worker with the Coahoma County Department of Human Services for 12 years. This profession revealed the abject neglect and abuse many young people are subjected to, even before they stepped out of their homes to enter a school building. With a desire to use her skills to change the trajectory of high-risk youth, Dr. Jossell attended the University of Mississippi and obtained a master's degree in Counseling (1990). She was hired the same year by Youth Opportunities Unlimited (YOU), a newly funded federal program operating under the auspices of Coahoma Community College. This program offered a second chance opportunity for pregnant and parenting teens and other high school dropouts who had a desire to re-enter the system and complete their high school education. Dr. Jossell served as Teen Parent Counselor/Coordinator for two years and was later promoted to Principal/Director of the Y.O.U. Alternative Education Program. At this time, the program was operated in conjunction with the Quitman County School District. With this new appointment, Dr. Jossell received Certification in Educational Administration in 1994 from the University of Mississippi, and her Doctorate in Education in 2012 from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
After federal funds ended in support of the Y.O.U. Program in 1994, Dr. Jossell re-organized the program as a Community-Based Nonprofit to diversify the program's funding streams. Over the 26-year lifespan of Y.O.U., Dr. Jossell wrote and submitted grants garnering over 14 million dollars in Federal and State Grants focusing on education, health, mentoring, recreation and physical fitness services for high risk youth. As a result of these programs, several students received their G.E.D. were able to travel outside of the county (many for the first time) to professional football and basketball games; participated in organized youth sports programs; participated in male and female mentoring programs; and participated in Service Learning/School-to-
Career projects that provided leadership skills and career exposure. Some of Y.O.U.'s alumni are principals, assistant principals, entrepreneurs, superintendents, doctors, educators, nurse practitioners, and more importantly, several decided to return to Quitman County to work as professionals in the county that embraced them as youth.
In January 2015, Dr. Jossell was given an assignment, that she believes was an appointment by God to run for Superintendent of Education. She strongly believes that every career path God had previously placed her on, provided the experience and fortitude she would need to be an effective Superintendent. Guided by the Holy Spirit, and with a platform touting transformation change, Dr. Jossell was elected as Superintendent of Education in August 2015 and took office January 2016. In a period of two years, the Quitman County School district went from an ``F'' accountability rating to a ``C'' performance rating. In 2018, the district's only elementary school was assigned an ``A'' accountability rating, the first in the history of the school system. Inclusive with improving their academic standing, the school district also went from a 76.9 percent graduation rate in 2016 to a 95.5 percent graduation rate in 2020, ranking them with the 6th highest graduation rate out of 448 high schools in the state. The district ranked 9th in the State with the lowest dropout rate, and 3rd in the State with the highest number of Special Service students graduating with a standard diploma. Dr. Jossell is quick to give Glory to God for this success, and recognition to an amazing Board, Administration, Faculty and Staff who truly believe that excellence is not an event, but an everyday practice that can be achieved regardless of their zip code.
Dr. Jossell's greatest cheerleader is her husband of 41 years, Pastor Michael E. Jossell. Together they have built a life of servitude to their family, church, and community. They are the proud parents of 5 adult children: Dr. Endre' Matthews; John S. Jossell, Michael E. Jossell, Jr., Jason D. Jossell, and Dr. Andrea M. Jossell; three beautiful granddaughters-Mckenzie Faith, Ava Grace, Olivia Joy and a grandson due in September.
Dr. Jossell is a Silver Star Member of the Iota Delta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Dr. Evelyn W. Jossell for her dedication to serving this great community and state.
____________________
SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 103
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