Long Creek Elementary School brought in author and motivational speaker Tommie Mabry of Jackson to rally students before the upcoming MAAP testing.
In addition to Mabry, the crowd was treated to refreshments and performances by the school cheerleaders and dance team.
Students who attended the after-hours event with their parents received a 100 score as a single test grade.
Long Creek’s goal is to move from a C school rating with the state to a B rating and then an A rating.
Mabry told the students that if he was able to overcome a difficult upbringing in a rough neighborhood, they, too, can rise above, but not without effort.
“I thought it was smart to be dumb and dumb to be smart,” he said of his original attitude.
Mabry said it takes courage to turn one’s back on the life and friends one is used to, but that sometimes that is exactly what is necessary to rise above.
“To get something you’ve never had, you need to do soemthing you’ve never done and become someone you have never been,” he said. “You need to get rid of bad friends. If he isn’t pushing you (forward) he is pulling you (back).”
Mabry also told parents that it is up to them to give their children the courage to make those hard choices.
“If 99 people give up on your kid, don’t be the 100th,” he said. “Just stay with them and they can become amazing.”
Mabry told the children that it is up to them to prove doubters wrong.
“They don’t think our black kids can do a good job. Prove them wrong, show them how great you are,” he told the children.
