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The resolution recognizes "the unique accomplishments of this outstanding class of Mississippi high school seniors and their teacher, who have brought honor to their school, their community and to the State of Mississippi." McKone said she knew well ahead of time she and her class would be honored in the Senate, but she wasn't quite sure what to expect.
"I just thought I would go up there and get a certificate, that they would call my name and it would be over," she said. "This was much bigger than I thought it was going to be."
Instead of taking a certificate and shaking a few hands, McKone found herself addressing the full Senate behind Hyde-Smith, Bogue Chitto Principal Bill McGehee and Dr. Rob Rockhold, University of Mississippi Medical Center's vice chancellor for academic affairs and creator of the "Muse of Fire" program, the DNA research study pursued by the class.
McKone said she tried to name everyone who helped make the class possible and recounted for senators her summer trips to Florida A&M University to borrow the high-tech laboratory equipment needed in the class, as well as her training sessions at Ivy League schools.
"I think this will be a defining document in Bogue Chitto's history as far as bio technology is concerned," she said. "It's just a great piece of history [the Legislature] has provided us with."
Lincoln County School District Superintendent Terry Brister said he was proud of that McKone and her students have brought the title of "pioneer" to Bogue Chitto, Lincoln County and Mississippi.
"It's just showing that we're trying to do things here," he said. "We've gone above the basics, and she's been able to pioneer that for us with her determination and desire to ... bring it back to Lincoln County and the schools."
Hyde-Smith, who authored SC 617 with the help of a handful of other senators, said legislative and education officials in Jackson were thoroughly impressed with McKone's and her class's work in Biomedical Research, which has been operating for less than one year at Bogue Chitto.
"It shows we do have extraordinary talent, extraordinary drive and motivation to encourage our students to reach beyond," she said. "It was an honor to represent one of the schools in Brookhaven - they all have their own attributes. We're just very lucky we can cumulatively bring together such a good education system."
That education system could grow very soon. McKone said her class's exploits have caught the attention of Princeton University, which wants to make Bogue Chitto a satellite school. McKone said Bogue Chitto would be only the seventh such school affiliated with Princeton, with the other six all located in the northeastern United States.
Through the affiliation, McKone said Princeton would supply her classroom with around $10,000 worth of equipment and supplies through a grant. McKone would also train other high school science teachers in Southwest Mississippi to teach Biomedical Research and loan equipment to other schools.
"It's sort of like the Ivy League meets the kudzu league," she said. "Just because we live in rural Mississippi doesn't mean we can't have an Ivy League education."
Brister said he and the school board would examine the affiliation when the time comes to make sure the district can participate.
"Yes, I want to commit to it; yes, I would like to see it done," he said. "We have to see how we can do it if it's possible. If it can be done, I'm going to."
Even as honors stack up for McKone's class, her students aren't done yet. She said students Blaine Myers and Seth Avants placed fifth and sixth, respectively, at the recent Junior Science and Humanity Symposium at the University of Mississippi, at which they presented research papers on their work with DNA and displayed a 12-minute PowerPoint presentation.
One of the students has to opportunity to travel to the national competition in Colorado Springs, Colo., on April 29.
