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Laurel, Mississippi

Population: 18,393
Located in Jones County

The City of Laurel has twice received the prestigious "Livable Community Award", co-sponsored by the Mississippi Municipalities Association and the Clarion-Ledger. The award recognizes three cities or towns that have made a conscious and direct effort to dramatically improve the lives of their citizens. Laurel won in 1996 for its downtown revitalization efforts and in 1998 for its "Field of Dreams", featuring the city's new 145-acre Sportsplex. The award is a statue made of fired Mississippi clay by Mississippi artisans and is symbolic of the city's effort to improve its livability. The statues are on display at City Hall.

The City of Laurel was selected as an "Official Millennium Community" by President and Mrs. Clinton's White House Millennium Council. The Millennium Council's theme, "honor our past and imagine our future", is parallel to the nature of some of Laurel's recent projects such as the creation of Pinehurst Park and renovation of the Historic Train Depot. The selection was based on the mayor's Millennium Medallion program in which medallions were presented during 1999 and 2000 to individuals or groups who made a special contribution(s) to their community's livability.

The Laurel School District spends over 5700 dollars per student, more than any other district in the Pine Belt and giving us a rank of 20 out of 152 districts in the state. This money is used to provide many outstanding learning opportunities and special programs to our students including after school and summer activities. Our high school, R.H. Watkins offers more advanced placement classes than most of the high schools in the state, enabling our students to be better prepared to excel in college. Students also have the opportunity to earn college credit through our advanced placement courses while they are still attending high school.

Every school in our district utilizes the latest technology in the educational process. We have established network access to educational programs at Nora Davis Magnet School, Mason Elementary, and Jones Middle School. Fast Internet Access (T-1) has been installed at all our schools and the central office. We are continually upgrading our equipment, and all facilities have a computer lab.

We are proud of our students in the Laurel School District because they are proven winners in Athletics, Extra -Curricula's, and Academics. Our graduates attend the best universities in the country and our seniors have received over one million dollars in college scholarships. We have a tradition of National Merit Semi -Finalists and AP scholars. Our high school football team is consistently ranked top in the state,while our speech and debate team wins countless awards while traveling to competitions all over the state and country.

Throughout the summer, the Laurel School District provides programs to promote learning, friendship, and enjoyment. Our students participate in academics in the morning and activities in the afternoon such as art, computer, swimming, horseback riding, canoe outings and water park trips.

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