It's going to be a few more weeks before the Mississippi Department of Education officially releases test scores to individual school districts, but judging from the remarks by school and community leaders today, Biloxi should have some good news later this month.

With the beginning of the school year days away, Biloxi Public Schools conducted an opening ceremony for teachers and staff today at the sports arena at Biloxi High School. Biloxi Public Schools Superintendent Arthur McMillan, Mayor A.J. Holloway and school principals referred to test scores, but stopped short of official announcements.

"This is a great day for Biloxi Public Schools. The scores are in and y'all have done a great job," Holloway told the hundreds of teachers and staff assembled in the huge arena. "On behalf of the citizens of Biloxi, I say thank you for a job well done."

McMillan, in his second year as Biloxi schools chief, said test scores – which give districts and individual schools labels that include Star, High Performing or Successful – won't be formally released by the state until after the state school board meets the third week in August.

"I just want to say that I am very proud of the job that our principals and teachers have done," McMillan said after the ceremony. "The school board and the community have high expectations of them, and they work hard to meet those expectations. I also don't want to overlook the students who perform so well in the classroom, and the parents who provide such a nurturing environment at home.

"This was a chance for us to say thank you to the teachers and principals, and to get the year off to a good start."

The first day of class in Biloxi Public Schools is Monday, Aug. 6.

The photos: To see more than a hundred photos from today's ceremony, click here.

The program: To see a copy of the program from today's ceremony, click here.

Get your supplies: For a list of supplies your child will need for the upcoming school year, click here.

Meet your principals: At the end of the last school year, videos were created to introduce each of the city's public schools. To see the videos, click on the respective school: Gorenflo Elementary School, Jeff Davis Elementary School, North Bay Elementary School, Popp's Ferry Elementary School, Biloxi Junior High School, and Biloxi High School.