Lauderdale County School District Foundation

06/16/2026

ALL FOUR ZONES. ONE DISTRICT. NATIONAL STAGE. 🌍✨

​We are thrilled to announce that the LCSD Foundation has voted to fund 11 phenomenal Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) students from Clarkdale High School, Northeast Lauderdale High School, Southeast Lauderdale High School, West Lauderdale Middle School, and West Lauderdale as they head to Nationals in San Antonio!

​This investment represents the core of our Theory of Change: directly supporting students. This support is removing financial barriers so students can unlock their leadership potential and represent LCSD at the highest level.

​A huge congratulations to all 11 national qualifiers, including Northeast High’s Marquavious Sillimon, who will also be serving as the Mississippi FBLA State Secretary! 💼

​Thank you to the LCSD Foundation for investing in our future. Best of luck to our students—bring home the gold! 🏆

Support our work: Help us keep doors open for Lauderdale County students. Visit lcsdfoundation.org to make a difference today!

​

06/10/2026

Future innovators in the making! 🚀🧠

Our Full Day Foundations STEM Extension Camp is officially in full swing this week, and 22 brilliant third graders from across the school district are having an absolute blast at the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian! 🧪✨

This program is a labor of love by the LCSD Foundation, designed to directly support our students and expand their access to high-quality STEM programming. From hands-on science experiments to creative engineering challenges, these kids are discovering just how much fun learning can be.

This wouldn't be possible without our incredible community. A massive thank you to our dedicated supporters and the Community Foundation of East Mississippi for investing in these students' futures.

We also want to thank the Mississippi Children's Museum-Meridian for providing the perfect space for our kids to explore, create, and grow!

06/02/2026

🚀 Bridging Literacy & STEM! 📚

We are thrilled to launch the 2026 Full-Day Foundations program, a fantastic summer opportunity designed specifically to support our third-grade re-testers!

This intentional, full-day experience is all about building confidence, mastering essential skills, and making learning an adventure.

A massive thank you to our incredible supporters who made this possible:
🔹 Community Foundation of East Mississippi
🔹 United Way of East Mississippi

And to our programming partner:
🔹️Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian

Together, we are building a stronger bridge to success for our students! 🌟

05/29/2026

Lauderdale County School District Foundation was honored to celebrate and recognize more than 28 dedicated LCSD retirees at this year’s Retirement Tea.

Through plaques, florals, refreshments, and cake, we had the privilege of expressing our gratitude to these exceptional educators and staff members whose years of service have made a lasting impact on our students, schools, and community.

This event reflects the Foundation’s commitment to educator recognition and morale while supporting the continued advancement of Lauderdale County School District.

A special thank you to our community partners who helped make this celebration memorable:

🏛️ Venue: Meridian Little Theatre
🏆 Plaques: Plus 4 Creations
🌸 Florals: Turtle Garden Flowers
🍽️ Food & Cake: Robin Greer

Your generosity and partnership helped us honor these deserving retirees in a meaningful way.

To each retiree, thank you for your dedication, service, and lasting impact on generations of students. We wish you all the best in retirement!

📸 Enjoy a few highlights from this special celebration.

Learn more about how the LCSD Foundation supports educators, students, and district advancement at www.lcsdfoundation.org

05/16/2026

Who helped make it happen ➡️ and who it was all for. ❤️

Over the past two weeks, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students from all four LCSD school zones had the opportunity to tour the new LCSD CTE Center and participate in the Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian traveling STEM exhibit, Rigamajig®.

This experience was designed to help career conversations begin as early as elementary school by giving students the chance to explore, create, collaborate, and begin visualizing future opportunities for themselves. From engineering concepts to teamwork and problem-solving, students were able to engage in hands-on learning in a way that made future careers feel exciting and attainable.

Rigamajig® is a large-scale building kit centered around child-directed learning and play. Using wooden planks, wheels, pulleys, nuts, and bolts, students explored science, engineering, art, and creativity while developing communication and critical-thinking skills along the way.

The exhibit wraps up this week, and we cannot wait to hear the conversations students are continuing at home with their parents and families about what they learned and what they may want their future to look like.

The LCSD Foundation is proud to help create innovative learning experiences that expose ALL students to new possibilities, future career pathways, and hands-on opportunities that inspire curiosity and confidence. None of this happens without strong community partnerships, supporters, and advocates who believe in investing in students and the future of Lauderdale County.

Learn more about the LCSD Foundation and how you can support opportunities like this at lcsdfoundation.org

05/16/2026

📚+🔬= 🏆

Thank you, The Real Meridian Star, for sharing the exciting news of our 3rd Grade Literacy + STEM Grant for Summer 2026 with Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian and made possible with support from the Community Foundation of East Mississippi.

We can't wait to see the 3rd grade retesters become STEM Scholars while growing their literacy skills!

The Lauderdale County School District Foundation has received a grant aimed at helping third-grade students strengthen critical skills ahead of state reading retests. The foundation was recently awarded the Excellence […]

05/14/2026

Congratulations! 🎉

The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education will recognize Mississippi’s top school-community partnerships during the 24th annual Governor’s Awards Celebration on Monday, May 18, at William Carey University.

Lauderdale County School District is among those being honored thanks to a public-private collaboration for literacy with Meridian Lauderdale County Public Library and the LCSD Foundation.

The district will be recognized and honored with the 2026 District & Community-Minded Partnership Excellence Award.

Please join us in congratulating the district and our community partners working together to positively impact students.

https://mapems.org/pages/congratulations-2026-governors-awards

05/06/2026

Congratulations!

The Mississippi Association of Partners in Education will recognize Mississippi’s top school-community partnerships during the 24th annual Governor’s Awards Celebration on Monday, May 18, at William Carey University.

Lauderdale County School District is among those being honored thanks to a public-private collaboration for literacy with Meridian Lauderdale County Public Library and the LCSD Foundation.

The district will be recognized and honored with the 2026 District & Community-Minded Partnership Excellence Award.

Please join us in congratulating the district and our community partners working together to positively impact students.

https://mapems.org/pages/congratulations-2026-governors-awards

05/06/2026

Thank you, Queen City Newsfeed, for highlighting this exciting grant award from Community Foundation of East Mississippi
to support STEM and literacy for third grade students this summer in partnership with Mississippi Children's Museum - Meridian!

Lauderdale County School District Foundation Receives Education Grant for Summer Camp
---
The Lauderdale County School District Foundation has been awarded the Excellence in Education Grant from the Community Foundation of East Mississippi.

The grant of more than $3,000 will provide third-grade state reading exam retesters in the Lauderdale County School District the opportunity to strengthen their literacy and STEM skills this summer during a weeklong camp at the Mississippi Children’s Museum in Meridian.

IMAGE: (L to R) Diane Freeman, LCSD SPED Director, Cheryl Thomas, LCSD Foundation, president, Dr. John-Mark Cain, LCSD Superitnendent, Leah Reed, CFEM Director of Donor Relations, Karen Williams, LCSD K-4 Curriculum Director, Dr. Marie Roberts, LCSD Foundation volunteer executive director and Casey Booker, CFEM Director of Operations.

05/04/2026

We are thrilled to celebrate the outstanding educators across all campuses during Teacher Appreciation Week, and we loved getting to drop a few happies from LMNT Hydration (an electrolyte water flavor sample packet) with Northeast Lauderdale Elementary School today to help teachers stay hydrated and healthy to finish the school year strong 💪

Where else can we spread the love this week?

💬 Share your favorite LCSD Educator in the comments to help us celebrate!