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Lessons from pre-k that works: Will Mississippi’s children finally move ahead?
LAMBERT, Miss. — Four months into this school year, veteran teacher Cynthia Gordon made a pleasant discovery: Her first grade students were hungry for books. Nearly half of her students were ahead of...
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Why Mississippi preschool may overlook kids in need
JACKSON, Miss. - Mississippi is the only state in the South that does not fund preschool. That may change this spring if the legislature passes one of two bills to subsidize select programs. But...
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In Mississippi, generations still fighting illiteracy
PASCAGOULA, Miss. — Rosie Corn barely remembers the few years she spent in school before her mother pulled her out. It was the mid-1940s, and she was only through the first half of fifth grade. While...
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The literacy crisis: Searching for solutions in Mississippi
GULFPORT, Miss. — On a recent Friday morning in the gym at Gaston Point Elementary School, Tracy Jackson was growing impatient. It was the monthly awards assembly, a morning dedicated to recognizing...
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Mississippi passes landmark pre-k bill, moves forward with charters
Mississippi is one step closer to passing sweeping education reforms that could, for the first time, bring state-funded pre-k to the state. On Wednesday, the House and Senate passed legislation that...
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After five tries in five years, Mississippi expands charters
Lawmakers in Mississippi passed legislation on Wednesday that will expand charter schools in the state, a victory for supporters who have made five attempts in five years to change the state’s current...
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Mississippi develops new teacher evaluation system
TUPELO, Miss. – On a recent morning at Lawndale Elementary School, Assistant Principal Ian Shumpert was immersed in a third-grade language lesson, taking careful notes on his iPad. He was there to...
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Some Mississippi districts have critical teacher needs
After accepting a job to teach science at Potts Camp School in rural Marshall County, Charlie Sisk began looking for housing. A science graduate of the University of Colorado, the first-year teacher...
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Racial segregation continues to impact quality of education in...
Debate is raging this year in Mississippi about whether state legislators should agree to start public pre-k programs for the first time. They’re also arguing about school funding and charter schools....
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Don’t blame Mississippi’s working moms for state’s education woes
Let’s take a hard look at some facts about education in the poor and largely rural state of Mississippi. Nearly seven percent of adults in the state have less than a ninth-grade education. At least 15...
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In dying Delta town, teacher turnover leaves last schoolhouse bereft
FRIARS POINT, Miss. — One promising young teacher decided she wanted to start a family outside of the Mississippi Delta. A second teacher left abruptly in the middle of the first semester with little...
View ArticleBlack parents in the South favor increased school choice, says new survey
Education Week The vast majority of African-American voters in four Southern states believe the government should provide as many educational choices as possible to ensure their children receive a good...
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To improve learning, some schools lengthen the school day or year
This report was undertaken in partnership with WWNO, New Orleans’ public radio station. Audio Listen to an audio version of this story NEW ORLEANS — It’s a July morning at 6:45 a.m. and the temperature...
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Q&A with Constance Slaughter-Harvey: Getting kids to dance while doing...
In Mississippi, only one public school has expanded learning time for all of its students. But a patchwork of community after-school programs fills some of the void. One of the most genuinely...
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Left behind in science: Why Mississippi’s children lose out on STEM jobs
COLUMBUS, Miss. — At the end of his sophomore year, Damonta Morgan left Clarksdale High School as one of its top students. He transferred to The Mississippi School for Mathematics and Science, hoping...
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The decline of science education in Mississippi: A view from the classroom
GULFPORT, Miss. — Two 10th-graders stand over a large whiteboard in their chemistry class at Gulfport High School, trying to recall the previous day’s experiment so they can present it to the class....
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Q & A with Leroy Clemons: Nearly 50 years after Freedom Summer, education is...
Leroy Clemons, president of the Neshoba County branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), was only two years old when three civil-rights workers investigating the...
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Back to school, but without books and basics in Mississippi
RICHTON, Miss. — When Superintendent Noal Cochran had an open teaching position in this quiet town, he looked for applicants at the bottom of the salary ladder—those with as little experience as...
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With new reforms proposed, glaring graduation gaps remain throughout Mississippi
BRANDON, MISS. — Rico Walton Jr.’s mother died when he was 15, and his academic life soon spiraled downward. Infractions tallied up. Tardiness, talking back to teachers, threats, fights. Walton began...
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Getting beyond ‘hatred and bitterness’ will improve education in Mississippi
JACKSON, Miss. — In a sun-dappled square at the top of a bluff, an unlikely group of politicians, civil rights veterans and educators gathered this week to commemorate some of the darkest moments in...
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