Mississippi First is proud of our many accomplishments since our founding. Some of our major wins include the following:
Passing the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013
Mississippi First is proud to have proposed and drafted the legislation establishing the state’s pre-K program. The National Institute for Early Education Research ranks Mississippi’s program among the top ten programs in the country for quality. Annually, children in the program are twice as likely to be ready for kindergarten as the average Mississippi child.
Passing the Mississippi Charter Schools Act
Mississippi First was one of the leading organizations that advocated for the passage of the Mississippi Charter Schools Act. We served as an expert advisor to the legislature in drafting the law and helped the sector start after the law’s passage. Our work continues through supporting charter schools and working to expand high-quality charter schools in Mississippi.
Evidence-Based Interventions to Leverage MSFF Funds
In 2024, the Mississippi Legislature passed the Mississippi Student Funding Formula (MSFF), ushering in a new approach to public school funding. Under the MSFF, the majority of school districts receive more state funding than they did through the state’s previous school funding formula, the Mississippi Adequate Education Program (MAEP).
The purpose of our newest brief, Evidence-Based Interventions to Leverage MSFF Funds, is to provide school districts and charter schools with information on research-backed strategies they can consider when spending the additional funds they receive through the MSFF.
Focusing on Setting High Standards with High-Quality Curriculum
Mississippi First worked with the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) to provide teachers with access to high-quality curriculum. We worked with teacher ambassadors to raise awareness about the approved curriculum options for English and math, and we helped design and publish materials for teachers that allow them to be a part of the material selection process at their schools.
Improving the Educator Pipeline
Mississippi First collected and analyzed data about the current educator pipeline to understand the barriers preventing aspiring teachers from entering the profession. With this data, Mississippi First published a report examining Mississippi’s educator pipeline and providing recommendations for policymakers. During the 2021 legislative session, we worked with the legislature to increase teachers’ and teacher assistants’ salaries and supported a new teacher loan repayment program.
Creating other nonprofits
Mississippi First has directly supported other nonprofits in their critical founding years. We created and launched Teen Health Mississippi, which is now an independent nonprofit.