NATCHEZ — In an effort to improve communications on Mississippi’s school boards, the Mississippi School Boards Association hosted a first-of-its-kind workshop on the issue this weekend.

Since Friday school board presidents and district superintendents from 20 school districts across Mississippi have been meeting at the Eola Hotel and attending a series of workshops all aimed at improving communications between school boards, their presidents, and district superintendents.

Mississippi School Boards Association Executive Director Michael Waldrop said school districts with boards and superintendents that can communicate effectively can spend more time focusing on ways to improve education for the district’s students.

“That should be the ultimately goal for any school district,” Waldrop said. “Improving student education.”

Waldrop said the idea for the weekend long seminar has been in the works for the past three years.

“We’re always looking for ways we can improve what we do, and this is something that we think can help out,” he said.

For the first seminar, only member districts of the MSBA were invited to attend, but plans to expand the seminar to the state’s 82 districts are being discussed, Waldrop said.

Natchez-Adams School District Superintendent Anthony Morris and Natchez-Adams School Board President Noris Edney attended the event.

Morris said he felt the event was useful since many school boards are comprised of members that might not have backgrounds in education.

“(Superintendents) are dealing with schools all day long, and we have an idea of what’s going on in the districts, not all boards are as familiar,” Morris said. “This can give all of us the tools to communicate more effectively.

However Waldrop said there are very few districts across the state were the superintendent and board do not communicate effectively.

Morris said he felt he and the Natchez-Adams board are able to communicate effectively and hoped the weekend’s seminar would further that effectiveness.

“We’re always interested in making improvements any way we can,” he said.