The calls you made to legislators in the 2023 Session – and the relationships you built with them over the last four years – made a tremendous difference! One important result was a significant increase in school funding. Legislators increased funding to school districts by $117-million, bringing us closer to full funding of the MAEP. See the impact on your district here, in our chart that shows current funding and shortfalls for each school district.
When we invest in Mississippi children and teachers, they deliver – just as they’ve been doing for the last 20 years!
Since our founding in 2006, we’ve watched with pride as Mississippi’s public school educators took the resources we fought for and turned them into astounding gains in student achievement. Mississippi students’ scores on the national assessment (NAEP) improved faster than those in any other state, steadily moving us up in the rankings over the years.
When The Parents’ Campaign was founded, Mississippi fourth-graders ranked 49th in the nation in reading and 50th in math. Today, our fourth graders rank 21st in reading and 33rd in math.
Even more astounding is the work our teachers have done with Mississippi children who live in low-wealth households, who now rank 2nd in the nation in reading and 3rd in math when compared with low-wealth children in other states!
Mississippi teachers are rock stars – be sure to thank them for the amazing work they do day in and day out. The very best way to demonstrate our gratitude is by electing legislators and statewide officials who are committed to the success of our public schools.
Please get involved today. Check out our Election Toolkit, where you’ll find easy ways to ensure that we elect pro-public school supporters up and down the ticket. Visit our Candidate Q&A site where you’ll find what legislators in your neck of the woods have to say about their support for public schools. If candidates in your district haven’t completed our Q&A survey, they can do that here.
When we started this journey, folks in other states cast a pitying eye at Mississippi’s public schools. Today, Mississippi’s public schools are lauded as a shining example of how to move kids forward – the “Mississippi Miracle!” Your work has played a significant role in that success, and we can’t afford to go backward.
A few minutes of your time to identify and support pro-public school candidates can make all the difference. Our kids are counting on us, and together, we’ve got this!
