Mississippi First Follows the Journey of the Early Learning Collaborative Act

Jackson, Mississippi—On April 17, 2023, Mississippi celebrated the 10-year anniversary of the Early Learning Collaborative Act.  From a fractured early education landscape before the passage of the historic bill to a strong and thriving pre-K program 10 years later, we celebrate the success of the Early Learning Collaborative Act, which has now served nearly 26,000…

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Mississippi First Follows the Journey of the Early Learning Collaborative Act

Mississippi Teachers Are Eyeing the Exit

Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First released our newest report, Eyeing the Exit: Teacher Turnover and What We Can Do About It. This report takes a deeper dive into data first reported in our February 2022 report Voices of the Shortage: 2022 Mississippi Teacher Survey, which revealed that over half of teachers surveyed reported being “somewhat” or…

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Mississippi Teachers Are Eyeing the Exit

A New Report Detailing the Educator Pipeline Crisis in Mississippi

Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First released their newest report titled Nothing in the Pipes: Educator Crisis in Mississippi. In recent years, a new problem in a decades-old challenge has emerged: the number of new Mississippi teachers has sharply declined, exacerbating the teacher shortage and threatening the success of public education in Mississippi. This new report discusses…

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A New Report Detailing the Educator Pipeline Crisis in Mississippi

Mississippi First Officially Launches Raise the Rate

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…

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Mississippi First Officially Launches Raise the Rate

Mississippi First Releases New Report on District and State Testing

Jackson, MS—Today, Mississippi First released Understanding District and State Testing in Mississippi. This report uses field research on testing practices in four diverse Mississippi school districts to determine how many tests Mississippi students take and how much time they spend taking those tests. It also describes common school district testing practices, such as how testing…

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Mississippi First Releases New Report on District and State Testing

Mississippi First Statement on the Southern Poverty Law Center Charter School Lawsuit

Jackson, MS—Yesterday, the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) filed a lawsuit alleging that the Mississippi Public Charter Schools Act of 2013 is unconstitutional under the Mississippi Constitution. We are confident the claims will be answered in court. Today, we would like to make a few points about both the substance of the lawsuit and its…

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Mississippi First Statement on the Southern Poverty Law Center Charter School Lawsuit