“As if my legislators have ever been my voice!”
This was the frustrated retort of one of our members to a lawmaker’s claim that Initiative 42 would have eliminated her voice at the Capitol. It sums up well what we have heard from thousands of you: in too many cases, you do not believe that your legislators represent your priorities.
The truth is that the outsized impact of corporate lobbyists, out-of-state campaign donors, and political threats has drowned out the voices of the people. We at The Parents’ Campaign are committed to reversing that impact so that your voices are reflected in your legislators’ votes.
Our members are asking that we make it easier than ever to follow legislators’ actions on education issues. We want to build a more streamlined and less intimidating approach to do just that. That is a costly endeavor for us.
Will you help by pitching in a few dollars? If so, just click here to donate. If each of us can give a little, together, we can do a lot.
The Good News in Our Test Scores
Meanwhile, teachers and students are hard at work! The Mississippi Department of Education has announced the scores from the English II and Algebra I subject area tests that high school students took last spring. As predicted, the significantly harder exams resulted in fewer students scoring at the proficient and advanced levels. The good news is that Mississippi students scored better than expected. You can see how your schools fared here.
Our children are rising to the challenge of the new, higher standards. Mississippi students are as bright and capable as the students in any other state, they just haven’t been given the same opportunities as their peers across the country. Closing the expectations gap is making a difference. Just imagine what will happen when we also close the resource gap!
Let’s insist on it: give our children the same opportunities, in expectations AND resources, that top-performing states give their children. Will you help us make it so? Click here to donate.
Thank you for standing up for our children. As so many of you have said in the last week… we are just getting started!
