About Us The Mississippi First team is a group of dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to promote the mission of Mississippi First.
Our Focus Areas At Mississippi First, we lead change by advancing ideas through the policy continuum. We are a leading voice for high-quality early education, high-quality public charter schools, access to highly effective teachers and leaders, and creating a future for public schools.
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April 1, 2021by Natasha Couoh

$16M for Mississippi Four-Year-Olds!

This news deserves its own post. The Mississippi State Legislature doubled its investment in state-funded pre-K to $16M. This is an historic step that ensures educational excellence for Mississippi kids.  Pre-K has been a founding policy area for us. When we helped pass the original law in 2013, we hoped that within 10 years 25% of Mississippi’s […]

01 April 2021 $16M for Mississippi Four-Year-Olds!
March 15, 2021by Natasha Couoh

The “Raise the Rate” Impact

Last year, the legislature proved its commitment to early education by ensuring per-pupil pre-K funding was enough to promote quality. The legislature raised the pre-K rate from $4,300 to $5,000 per child, a difference of $700 total and $350 in state funds. Because the pandemic interrupted the session, the legislature made this change directly in the budget […]

15 March 2021 The “Raise the Rate” Impact
February 1, 2021by Natasha Couoh

Legislative Update: Pre-K

In 2020, the legislature decided to raise the per-pupil funding rate for collaboratives from $2,150 to $2,500. Because of the pandemic sidelined many general bills, our legislative champions did this directly in the budget bill. We were thrilled with this progress, but a change in the budget bill only lasts for one year. This year, we are back […]

01 February 2021 Legislative Update: Pre-K
May 21, 2020by Natasha Couoh

Now is the time to accelerate pre-K progress. Coronavirus landscape reinforces need.

This op-ed originally appeared in the Clarion-Ledger on April 26, 2020. Life never seems to follow a straight line. Six months ago, the Mississippi economy was moving along and all signs pointed to new — read, unallocated — money in the budget for the 2020 legislative session. At last, Mississippi would have money for all […]

21 May 2020 Now is the time to accelerate pre-K progress. Coronavirus landscape reinforces need.
January 5, 2017by Natasha Couoh

Mississippi First Releases 2017 State of Pre-K in Mississippi

Today, Mississippi First released the second report in its ground-breaking series, The State of Pre-K in Mississippi, which focuses on pre-K access and quality in Mississippi. The report released today—The State of Pre-K in Mississippi (2014-2015)—updates our 2011-2012 report on public pre-K and expands it to include information about licensed childcare centers serving four-year-old children. This report is the first […]

05 January 2017 Mississippi First Releases 2017 State of Pre-K in Mississippi