Editor’s Note: This is a personal reflection by Rachel Canter in response to the tragedy in Uvalde. It reflects her thoughts and feelings alone. It was originally published in an email. *** By Rachel Canter I Executive Director There are no sacred spaces left in America. This is the thought I keep coming back to…
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By Toren Ballard I Director of K-12 Policy On March 14, Senate Bill 2113 became the first education bill to be signed into law for the 2022 legislative session. Titled simply “Critical Race Theory; prohibit,” SB 2113 became the bill at the center of the critical race theory conversation early on in the session and…
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By Rachel Canter I Executive Director When I was a first year teacher, I asked my students a basic question about American history—“Why do we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s birthday every year?”—as a way of introducing Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. Without exception, the answer I got from every class was…
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Today, we are excited to release our policy vision, “The Future of Schools: Supporting Families, Teachers, and Students.” This publication details three ways that Mississippi First believes we can change with the times in order to better serve all of our students. Families: Align and Extend the School Day and School Year Juggling school and…
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We would love to imagine a world in which school districts never have to engage in crisis communications, but this past month, schools began re-opening for a new school year right as the Delta variant is surging in Mississippi. In some ways, we know just as little about how this school year will unfold as…
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School districts have had to grapple with a host of new communications challenges this year. The best way to navigate the new school year is by learning best practices for communications from districts across the state. To support Mississippi school districts, we are excited to announce the publication of Learning from the Moment: District Communications…
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