In our previous report, Nothing in the Pipes: Educator Crisis in Mississippi, we explained how the rising cost of college attendance and the declining value of teaching salaries may be squeezing aspiring new teachers out of the pipeline. To build on that analysis, we surveyed 6,496 Mississippi public school teachers—1 in 6 teachers statewide—in November…
Mississippi First compiles its achievements and financial results each year into an Annual Report corresponding to our most recently completed fiscal year. Each Annual Report takes a broad view of the year behind and sets the stage for the years ahead. 2023 Year in Review After successfully advocating the passage and expansion of the Early…
We are celebrating #GivingTuesday and the end of the year by raising $10,000 for Mississippi kids. Money raised supports our dedicated staff in achieving high-quality pre-K-12 public education in Mississippi. These dollars directly enable us to produce research, resources, and policy recommendations for children, families, teachers, and schools. In the last decade, Mississippi has improved…
Mississippi First releases a third 2021 pre-K research brief demonstrating the benefits of pre-K for children living in poverty. Since our founding, Mississippi First has known access to high-quality, no- and low-cost pre-K in Mississippi would be a game-changer for our youngest learners. In our first pre-K publication, 2012’s Leaving Last in Line, we recommended…
The Early Learning Collaborative Act established state pre-K programs known as “Early Learning Collaboratives” or ELCs. All collaboratives are overseen by the Mississippi Department of Education, even though individual providers may also have other oversight agencies. In 2012, Mississippi First published two major reports on pre-K, the Title I Preliminary Report which described how school districts were…
