Mississippi First Releases Three Big Ideas for the Future of Schools for Families, Teachers, and Students
Today, we are excited to release our policy vision, “The Future of Schools: Supporting Families, Teachers, and Students.”
This publication details three ways that Mississippi First believes we can change with the times in order to better serve all of our students.
Families: Align and Extend the School Day and School Year
Juggling school and work schedules has long been overly difficult for most American families, and as children have returned to in-person school, we are more aware than ever that something needs to change.
Teachers: Re-Envision the Day-to-Day Role of a Teacher
Every teacher knows that shouldering the weight of instructional or policy change often falls squarely on them, without any new resources, technical assistance, or time to manage the shift. It’s time to re-envision what the role of a teacher is.
Students: Virtual Course Choice
Finding great teachers for every higher-level or specialized course in every Mississippi district has proven difficult, especially for Mississippi’s small and rural districts. A new virtual course choice program could fill this void.
Adopting the three big ideas in this vision document would be a solid first step in developing the schools of tomorrow in ways that make education better for families, teachers, and students. Mississippi First looks forward to working with policymakers, educators, and families to make these ideas a reality.
This policy vision was published by Mississippi First in October 2021 with support from the Walton Family Foundation.
Related Posts
By Grace Breazeale, Director of Research and K-12 Policy On May 22, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a sweeping domestic policy bill, H.R.1 (the One Big Beautiful Bill Act). If the bill is passed by the Senate and signed into law, it could indirectly lower the amount of state funding that school districts receive and reduce […]
This post is part of our ongoing analysis of 2024 education legislation. See our bill tracker here for all analyses. Mississippi First has spent the last year closely researching the impact of MAEP on districts throughout the state in order to determine how best to direct additional resources to students with the greatest needs. Having built up […]
This post is part of our ongoing analysis of 2024 education legislation. See our bill tracker here for all analyses. In the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers have introduced two separate school funding proposals that each promise to inject at least an additional $200 million into funding for public education in Mississippi, with the House plan providing about […]
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 | K-12 Policy Associate In this Post: How We Meet the Needs of English Language Learners Mississippi’s population of students who identify as English Language Learners (ELLs) has grown in recent decades, […]
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 As most districts welcomed students back to school in August, districts on a balanced academic calendar were already going into their second month of the […]
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 Mississippi’s high school graduation rate has steadily risen over the past five years, which would typically be a cause for celebration. But in this case, […]
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 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 […]
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 Mississippi experienced a steep decline in public school enrollment during the COVID-19 pandemic, and many schools have yet to experience the full consequences. Since enrollment is directly […]
Editor’s Note: This blog post is a part of a new ongoing series of posts dedicated to K-12 education policy in Mississippi. *** By Grace Breazeale I K-12 Policy Associate In this Post: Roadblock to Recovery: Student Absenteeism As school districts take steps to recover from pandemic learning loss, they should not underestimate how rising rates […]
By Rachel Canter | Executive Director Mississippi First has published a public memo to the State Board of Education to support the selection of a new state superintendent. This choice will not only be the most important decision the State Board makes this year; it will also be the most important decision they will make in the […]
Editor’s Note: This is a personal reflection by Rachel Canter in response to the tragedy in Uvalde. It reflects her thoughts and feelings alone. It was originally published in an email. By Rachel Canter | Executive Director There are no sacred spaces left in America. This is the thought I keep coming back to after the […]