An announcement
Dear friends, colleagues, and supporters,
I was 19 when I decided that I would devote my life to what eventually became Mississippi First. It was the summer of 2002, and No Child Left Behind was set to go into effect that fall. I had spent the summer as an intern in the Mississippi Governor’s Office and was tasked with spearheading a grant application to help Mississippi get ready for the changes that this new federal law would require.
Through that process, I met the then-superintendent of Cleveland Public Schools. He told me a story about children in Cleveland who were too poor to afford running water and came with their families each week to the fire station to fill up buckets and jugs. These were the children, he impressed upon me, that we are saying can no longer be left behind. What was unstated, but nonetheless seemed to echo so loud to me, was that our country, and our state, would rather forget these children—our children, my children—and each new initiative was only lip service to the idea of something better made by cynical politicos in Washington.
I went home that evening feeling determined and more than a little defiant. A Starkville kid who grew up attending public schools, I have never been able to accept the idea that just because the state and its children are poor, and just because our history is among the darkest in the nation, we will never be able to be better or do better than last place. “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life,” I told a friend. “I want to change Mississippi so that every child, including the kids in Cleveland, can get a great education in Mississippi public schools.”
It took seven years, and a lot of twists and turns, from that moment until I moved to Jackson in 2008 to start Mississippi First. From the very beginning, leading this organization has been a labor of love, sweat, and more than a few tears—no more so than today, when after 16 years I am writing to share that I will leave my position by June 2025. I came to this decision after many months of long, careful thought.
My first and largest reason is deeply personal. When I started Mississippi First, I was young and single and responsible to no one other than myself and my ideals. In the intervening years, I have traversed many of the milestones of adulthood, most importantly getting married and having two children. It has become increasingly obvious to me that the pressures of this job are unsustainable if I want to have the time and energy to be present for my kids as they approach their formative adolescent years. To put it bluntly, I need to take a break from devoting so much energy to Mississippi’s children to focus on my own.
Secondly, I want Mississippi First, the organization I’ve led and cared about so deeply, to have a long life regardless of whether I stay at the helm. The transition from a founder to a successor is often rocky for an organization, and the longer I stay, the harder I know it will be. I need to leave Mississippi First while the organization is strong enough to survive, and I believe that time is now, after 16 years of historic wins, including this past year’s generational accomplishment in writing a new, more equitable public school funding formula law. I believe new leadership will open new possibilities.
The usual terms—“bittersweet,” “mixed emotions”—do not adequately describe what I’m feeling now. One of the questions I’ve grappled with over the years is when will it be enough? When will I have done enough to make good on the promises I made when I was 19? With the wisdom of experience, I honestly do not know whether I can ever do enough. I do know that I need to step back from the day-to-day challenges of this position for a brief while so I can sustain my commitment to this work over many years ahead.
Leading Mississippi First has been the honor of a lifetime, and I am so grateful to all my allies, near and far, who have sustained me as I have done this difficult work in this difficult place. I am proud of what we have accomplished together, and I am sorry to leave you.
There will be time for tears, and lessons learned, and future plans. Most importantly, there is still a little more time to get things done before my last day in this seat; I hope we can make the most of it.
My best wishes,
Rachel
Related Posts
Leveraging What Works for Mississippi Students Together By Angela Bass As I reflect on the first 90 days of my leadership at Mississippi First, I am humbled and energized by the opportunity to lead an organization so deeply aligned with my lifelong commitment to educational equity and opportunity. This commitment began when I was a […]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – June 9, 2025 JACKSON, Miss. – Angela Bass will rejoin Mississippi First as its new Executive Director, effective July 8, the organization announced today. Angela hails from Tunica, MS, and she was the Deputy Director of Policy for Mississippi First from 2014-2019, directing several research initiatives, co-authoring policy and research reports, and providing technical […]
Move comes after years of significant progress statewide in expanding, strengthening educational opportunities; Board search underway for successor Mississippi First founder and Executive Director Rachel Canter announced today that she will transition from the organization in 2025. The move comes after a transformational period for public education in Mississippi, with more and higher-quality educational opportunities […]
We are celebrating #GivingTuesday and the end of the year by raising $10,000 for Mississippi kids. Money raised supports our dedicated staff in achieving high-quality pre-K-12 public education in Mississippi. These dollars directly enable us to produce research, resources, and policy recommendations for children, families, teachers, and schools. In the last decade, Mississippi has improved dramatically. The pandemic has threatened […]
At Mississippi First, we often get calls or requests from students doing research, interested members of the public, and other advocates seeking to learn more about pre-K-12 public education in Mississippi by interviewing us in person or on the phone about what we do, what we believe, or what we think about an idea the caller may […]
Recently, Rachel was interviewed by Jennifer Schiess from Bellwether Education Partners. The interview was published on the Bellwether Education Partners’ blog Ahead of the Heard. During the interview, Rachel talked about the recent increase in NAEP scores and what they mean for Mississippi. She also discussed what Mississippi First has been focused on over the last decade, the […]
Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First officially launched the Raise the Rate campaign at the Capitol. During the 2020 legislative session, Mississippi First will be working with partners, collaboratives, and legislators to raise the pre-K funding rate from $4,300 to $5,000 per child for early learning collaborative students. Because the cost of the state-funded pre-K program is shared between the state […]
In January, we celebrated our 10-year anniversary with a breakfast at the State Capitol. Several legislators, education policy partners, and even a few former interns stopped by to congratulate us on our first decade. “For the last 10 years, Mississippi First has championed transformative policy solutions ensuring educational excellence for every Mississippi child. We are proud […]
EdBuild recommended eliminating the 27% rule as part of the funding re-write. Do you know what the 27% rule is, and who it benefits? You may be surprised. Watch the video below to learn about the 27% rule. [Editor’s note: This video looks at how the 27% rule affects school funding using EdBuild’s calculated totals […]