Mississippi First Releases Its First Public Perception Survey of Early Childhood in Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi—Mississippi First is proud to announce the release of its newest report, 2023 Public Perception of Early Childhood Education in Mississippi, which provides valuable insights into Mississippians’ views on the importance, affordability, and accessibility of early childhood education. The survey results underscore the widespread public support for pre-K and early learning initiatives across the state.
In 2023, Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative program celebrated an impressive milestone—its ten-year anniversary. Over the past decade, the program has expanded significantly, growing from 11 to 37 communities and providing 6,200 four-year-olds annually with access to high-quality pre-K education. Building on this success, Mississippi First broadened its early education focus in 2022 to encompass the wider early childhood education landscape.
As part of this wider focus, Mississippi First partnered with the Survey Research Lab at Mississippi State University to conduct a survey of a representative sample of 617 Mississippi adults through telephone interviews in June and July 2023. The findings reveal overwhelming support for early childhood education among Mississippians:
- 94.7% agree or strongly agree that pre-K is crucial for preparing children for their future education.
- 91.7% believe the state should fund pre-K programs.
- 66.8% support state funding for early learning programs for children ages three and younger.
- 54.8% agree that families currently have access to affordable pre-K (programs for four-year-olds), while only 49.1% feel that families currently have access to affordable early learning programs (programs for children ages three and younger).
“As we have long stated, Mississippians overwhelmingly believe in the importance of pre-K and strongly support the state’s investment in the education of four-year-olds through the early learning collaboratives,” said Rachel Canter, Executive Director of Mississippi First. “We are thrilled to see that Mississippians also show strong support for early learning for children ages three and younger and believe the state should invest in the education of this age group. For both pre-K and early learning, Mississippians’ strong support crosses demographic lines, including race, political affiliation, and income levels, reflecting a unified belief in the benefits of early education.”
Mississippi First remains committed to advocating policies that expand access to early education and enhance the quality of early learning programs in Mississippi. These survey results serve as a testament to Mississippians’ dedication to fostering the educational development of young children and shaping a brighter future for the state. Mississippi First encourages policymakers to study these results to understand how the public feels about early education and to reach out to Mississippi First about how the state can continue to provide better opportunities for our youngest learners.
u003ch2 style=u0022text-align: center;u0022u003eu003cspan style=u0022color: white;u0022u003ePublic Perception of Early Childhood Education in Mississippiu003c/spanu003eu003c/h2u003ernu003cp style=u0022text-align: center;u0022u003eu003cspan style=u0022color: white;u0022u003eRead the public’s views on the importance, affordability, and accessibility of early childhood education in Mississippi when surveyed in 2023.u003c/spanu003eu003c/pu003e
High-Level Findings
The findings reveal overwhelming support for early childhood education among Mississippians:
- 94.7% agree or strongly agree that pre-K is crucial for preparing children for their future education.
- 91.7% believe the state should fund pre-K programs.
- 66.8% support state funding for early learning programs for children ages three and younger.
- 54.8% agree that families have access to affordable pre-K (programs for four-year-olds), while only 49.1% feel that families have access to affordable early learning programs (programs for children ages three and younger).
Author
Micayla Tatum
Director of Early Childhood Policy
Micayla Tatum is the Director of Early Childhood Policy and the co-author of the third and fourth State of Pre-K brief that focuses on access to pre-K in 2017-2018. She also was the project lead for the development and publication of the pre-K data dashboard.
Editors
Rachel Canter
Executive Director
Rachel Canter is the Executive Director of Mississippi First and author of additional Mississippi First reports, including Leaving Last in Line, the State of Pre-K series, and Nothing in the Pipes: Educator Crisis in Mississippi (2020). Rachel founded Mississippi First in 2008.
Grace Breazeale
K-12 Policy Associate
Grace Breazeale is the K-12 Policy Associate at Mississippi First. She co-authored Eyeing the Exit and Falling Behind. She also publishes a monthly blog post dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi.
Related Posts
Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaboratives (ELCs) are #1 in the country for their high-quality pre-K programs. The ELCs currently operate in 40 communities and serve over 6,000 students. ELCs involve many partners, including school districts, Head Start programs, and licensed childcare providers. These partners commit to working together to provide high-quality pre-K to Mississippi’s four-year-olds. Despite our […]
Takisha Bishop, a business owner and childcare provider in Greenwood, MS, discusses the impact of the losing voucher students on her business and community.
Mississippi First is continuing its campaign to elevate the voices of real Mississippians who are highlighting the urgent childcare needs across our state. High-quality childcare is essential for children, working families, and our state’s economic future—but today, too many Mississippi families struggle to access or afford the care they need. Our video series spotlights real […]
Mississippi First is continuing its campaign to elevate the voices of real Mississippians who are highlighting the urgent childcare needs across our state. High-quality childcare is essential for children, working families, and our state’s economic future—but today, too many Mississippi families struggle to access or afford the care they need. Our video series spotlights real […]
Mississippi First is launching a new video campaign calling for increased appropriations to Mississippi’s Child Care Payment Program. High-quality childcare is essential for children, working families, and our state’s economic future—but today, too many Mississippi families struggle to access or afford the care they need. Our video series will spotlight real stories from families and […]
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to the federal role in early childhood in Mississippi. By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy This blog post is the third in a series that highlights the impact of federal funding for early childhood on both families and communities throughout […]
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to the federal role in early childhood in Mississippi. By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy We want to continue to explore the impact of federal early childhood programs in Mississippi. This blog post is the second in a series that […]
By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy When the legislative session came to a close on Thursday, April 3, 2025, the legislature went home without passing a budget for the state government, including an appropriations bill for the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) and the Mississippi Department of Human Services (DHS). On Wednesday, May […]
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to the federal role in early childhood in Mississippi. By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy As Congress weighs funding decisions for fiscal year 2026, we want to explore the impact of federal early childhood programs in Mississippi. This blog post […]
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to early education policy in Mississippi. *** By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy A lack of wage parity is a longstanding issue in the early childhood profession. Childcare teachers, Head Start teachers, and public pre-K teachers have vastly different salaries and access […]
By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy After four legislative sessions, we are excited to announce that our bill to permanently raise the per-pupil funding rate, HB 817, passed! The Governor signed the bill into law on April 17. This bill increases the state share of per-pupil pre-K funds from $2,150 to a minimum of $2,500 per […]
Editor’s Note: This post is one in an ongoing series of posts dedicated to early education policy in Mississippi. *** By Micayla Tatum, Director of Early Childhood Policy The educator pipeline crisis, which Mississippi First has researched extensively, also affects childcare centers, Head Start, and public school pre-K programs. In short, finding early childhood teachers is as […]