Orisha Brown Mims began her career in 2006 as a Teacher Assistant in the Jefferson County School District, Fayette, MS. After occupying that position for one year, Mrs. Mims was encouraged to pursue her teaching certification. After successfully passing her Praxis exams, she was hired as an 8th grade Science Teacher. She completed her Master of Arts in teaching at Alcorn State University and continued in that role until May 2013. During that time, she pursued and completed a masters and certification in Educational Leadership.
She returned to the Jefferson County School District as a Gifted Instructor but was offered a position in November 2013 as an Assistant Principal in the Natchez-Adams School District. After a few months in that role, she was offered a position as principal at Morgantown College Preparatory Academy in May 2014. In 2016, she became principal at Joseph L. Frazier Elementary School where she is in her 3rd year.
She returned to the Jefferson County School District as a Gifted Instructor but was offered a position in November 2013 as an Assistant Principal in the Natchez-Adams School District. After a few months in that role, she was offered a position as principal at Morgantown College Preparatory Academy in May 2014. In 2016, she became principal at Joseph L. Frazier Elementary School where she is in her 3rd year.
Mrs. Mims believes that quality education is fundamental to a progressive community. To educate our youth is to empower them. As educators, we must care about student outcomes and inspire teachers to teach creatively and motivate students to engage deeply in learning. She believes that demographics and economic status may play a role, but should not determine the likelihood of success for any student. She works extremely hard to show students that they can rise above their hardships and be successful students, and ultimately citizens, in their communities.
She works hard to remain visible in the community. Mrs. Mims has done many things for her school and community, but her greatest joy is being able to provide food to families through her Annual Thanksgiving Food Drive and coats to students through her Annual Coat Drive. “How can you educate a child who is cold or hungry?” This year she was able to feed 20 families for Thanksgiving. The food boxes included enough food for the entire Thanksgiving break. Also, she has partnerships with 2 local churches that provide food backpacks for students in need every weekend.
Even though being able to connect to her students’ physical and emotional needs is important, she realizes that numbers count. When she became principal of Frazier in 2016, the school had an accountability rating of D and had obtained 634 discipline referrals during the previous academic year. During the 2016-2017 school year, Mrs. Mims and her team were able to decrease the number of discipline referrals from 634 to 479. Also, the ADA was increased from 92.98% to 93.4%. That school year the school maintained the D accountability rating. During the 2017-2018 school year, the team was able to increase the accountability rating from a D (309 points) to a C (354 points). This included an increase in 26.4 percentage points in Math Growth All and 19 percentage points in Math Growth Low.