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.
Back News & Updates
News & Updates Stay informed with the latest updates, stories, and perspectives on our work to advance educational excellence in Mississippi.
Take Action Check out the various ways to get involved below and help us increase access to high-quality public education in Mississippi.
April 17, 2023by Natasha Couoh

Ensuring the Effectiveness of Social-Emotional Learning

Editor’s Note: This blog post is part of an ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale | Director of Research and K-12 Policy In early 2021, the Mississippi Department of Education released its first-ever social-emotional learning (SEL) standards. The release of these standards was a positive step towards increasing […]

17 April 2023 Ensuring the Effectiveness of Social-Emotional Learning
December 10, 2021by Natasha Couoh

Statement on American History in Public Schools

By Rachel Canter | 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 that […]

10 December 2021 Statement on American History in Public Schools
December 10, 2021by Natasha Couoh

Principles for Assessing Curriculum-Related Legislation

Today, we released a statement on American history from our Executive Director, Rachel Canter. In partnership with that statement, Mississippi First has developed the following principles for assessing curriculum-related legislation. These principles are based on our organizational values. We believe these principles are commonsense. In a recent nationwide poll of parents, large majorities of both Republicans and Democrats agreed […]

10 December 2021 Principles for Assessing Curriculum-Related Legislation