josh taylor

Reflections and Stories of Those Who Work With ChildrenWho Lack Early Learning Opportunities posted May, 2008  Thousands of Mississippi children arrive in public kindergarten classes with skill levels well below those expected of a typical preschooler. Many of these children have never held a book, have rarely been engaged in conversation, and have the vocabulary of a […]

Repeatedly studies have shown poverty to be the number one predictor of low student achievement. With over 64% of our public school children living in poverty, Mississippi leads all states in students who are at risk for failure. Studies have also shown that a significant investment is required to move students reared in poverty from

In an effort to more clearly understand the challenges facing Mississippi teachers and students, The Parents’ Campaign decided to seek information from those who know best: those who work closely with children who are more likely to fail than they are to succeed. Of course, not all children who are at risk of failure fit

Students across the state will join hundreds of thousands of their peers across the country to take the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) test. The test will be administered January 26 – March 6, 2009. “Now is the time to move Mississippi’s collective scores to a level we can all be proud of. Business

Myths Plaguing Public Education and Why They Are Not True Myth #1: Over 60% of the state budget is spent on public education.Reality: This argument relies on the assumption that the General Fund (just under $5-billion) provides all available state revenue. The fact is, the General Fund makes up less than one-third of the state

Successful students… Eat a good breakfast every morning. Are not tardy – wake up early enough to get to school on time. Get plenty of sleep – turn in early. Write down their assignments carefully – be sure to get the phone numbers of a few classmates just in case you missed something. Do their

A Maintenance of Effort provision requires that an entity continue to “do its fair share” in providing funding to an agency under its jurisdiction in order to be eligible for financial assistance for that agency from another entity. For example, federal funding often comes with a Maintenance of Effort provision that requires states to continue

When a bill is held on a motion to reconsider, the bill is placed back on the calendar and cannot move forward until the chamber again takes it up on the floor for additional debate. This provides an opportunity for members to change their votes on the bill. Often, when the bill is brought back