As part of the expansion of its Local News Initiative, Grist is excited to announce a new local partnership with Deep South Today, a nonprofit news network that includes Verite News in Louisiana and Mississippi Today.
Grist has added Verite’s senior climate and environment reporter Tristan Baurick as the newsroom’s fifth local reporter. In addition, Grist and Deep South Today will work together to develop a similar new reporting position that will work in both the Mississippi Today and Grist newsrooms.
Before joining Verite in 2024, Baurick was a coastal and environment reporter at The Times-Picayune | Nola.com. His special projects included an in-depth look at the potential for offshore wind energy in the Gulf of Mexico; a long-form story about the relocation of a Louisiana tribal community; and a series with New Orleans Public Radio about water management in the Netherlands and the lessons it holds for Louisiana.
Baurick’s work has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, National Association of Science Writers, and National Headliner Awards. He was part of a reporting team that won the Society of Environmental Journalists’ top overall award and its investigative reporting prize. He was awarded a year-long Ted Scripps environmental journalism fellowship at the University of Colorado – Boulder and was an MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative fellow in 2021. He previously worked for newspapers in Washington state, where he covered government affairs, the outdoors, and public lands. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, ProPublica, and Audubon magazine.
“Verite News’ partnership with Grist allows us to expand the footprint of Baurick’s award-winning reporting on climate issues affecting Louisiana and Mississippi. It also provides us with invaluable resources to do the work that is needed to highlight these important environmental issues,” Verite Editor-in-Chief Terry Baquet said.
“I’m a big fan of Grist and the work they do,” Baurick said. “I look forward to teaming up with their talented staff.”
The new partnership marks the continued growth of Grist’s Local News Initiative, which aims to bolster coverage of climate change in communities across the United States through partnerships with local newsrooms. Grist already has reporters embedded with WABE in Georgia, IPR in Michigan, WBEZ in Illinois, and BPR in North Carolina.
“Climate change impacts every community, every region differently,” said Katherine Bagley, Grist’s executive editor. “Tristan’s work has long exemplified the best environmental reporting showing these impacts specific to the Gulf. Combined with Verite’s sharp, in-depth reporting and growing audience, it is a powerhouse partnership that Grist is honored to join and strengthen.”
ABOUT GRIST
Grist is an award-winning, nonprofit, independent media organization dedicated to highlighting climate solutions and uncovering environmental injustices. Since 1999, we have used the power of journalism to engage the public about the perils of the most existential threat we face. Now that three-quarters of Americans recognize that climate change is happening, we’ve shifted our focus to show that a just and sustainable future is within reach.
ABOUT DEEP SOUTH TODAY
Deep South Today is a nonprofit network of local newsrooms that includes Mississippi Today and Verite News. Founded in 2016, Mississippi Today is now one of the largest newsrooms in the state, and in 2023 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Verite News launched in 2022 in New Orleans, where it covers inequities facing communities of color. With its regional scale and scope, Deep South Today is rebuilding and re-energizing local journalism in communities where it had previously eroded, and ensuring its long-term growth and sustainability.
The University of Southern Mississippi has removed the word “diverse” from its mission statement and “inclusiveness” from its vision statement, surprising many faculty who did not know an update was in the works until it was approved without public discussion by the university’s governing board last week.
The changes have nothing to do with the political headwinds facing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in higher education, a university spokesperson told Mississippi Today.
Instead, the administration made the updates as part of the university’s new strategic plan ahead of re-accreditation, making USM the only public university in Mississippi to not include the word “diverse” in its mission or vision statements, according to a review of strategic plans for all eight institutions.
“The vision and mission statements had not been updated since 2015 and 2017, respectively, and much has changed at Southern Miss since that time,” Nicole Ruhnke, the university’s chief communications officer, wrote in an email.
USM, which has called its student body the most diverse in Mississippi, will still count the following among its updated strategic values: “An inclusive community that embraces the diversity of people and ideas.”
While the administration did take into account a report from a faculty-led strategic planning steering committee, it did not seek campus feedback before submitting the changes to the Institutions of Higher Learning Board of Trustees, the governing board of Mississippi’s eight universities.
The steering committee did not know the administration was working on changes to the university’s mission and vision statements when it wrote the report, according to its co-chair, Eric Powell, a professor in the School of Ocean Science and Engineering.
“We had absolutely nothing to do with that,” Powell said. “It was not part of our mandate, and we did not make any recommendations to the president with respect to it.”
“Whatever happened subsequently after they had our report, that’s the administration’s business,” he added. “They get to use our report in whatever way they wish.”
Jeremy Scott, a physics and astronomy professor who leads USM’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, said the changes did not seem substantive, though he was concerned about the university becoming a tool for political grandstanding.
More troubling, Scott said, was the process.
“It was an affront to shared governance,” he said, referencing the idea in higher education that faculty and the administration collaborate on significant decisions. “I have to say that as the AAUP president.”
Scott pointed out that the university has agreed to as much in the faculty handbook, which states: “The University recognizes that the faculty should be consulted and with respect to such matters as long-range plans for the institution, the allocation and use of fiscal and physical resources, and the selection of academic officers.”
As of Wednesday, the faculty senate executive committee was still working to learn more about the changes, according to a statement provided by its president, creative writing professor Josh Bernstein.
“The Faculty Senate does maintain that diversity must remain a core value of USM and that any decisions about changes in the mission, vision or values of USM need to be made with faculty, rather than for them, as the traditions and norms of shared governance require,” the statement reads.
It’s rare for faculty to complain about issues like the administration failing to seek feedback on a change to the university mission statement, signaling it doesn’t happen very often, said Mark Criley, a senior program officer in the AAUP’s department of academic freedom, tenure and governance.
“When you’re dealing with an organization that has so many different parts, and people who have different and distinct responsibilities, it just doesn’t lead to good management when any one part of an institution makes decisions without substantially involving the other,” Criley said.
Universities across the state, including USM, have renamed and revamped their DEI offerings over the last year, Mississippi Today has reported. Earlier this summer, USM renamed its diversity office the “Office of Community and Belonging.”
USM’s new mission statement reads: “The University of Southern Mississippi engages students at all levels in the exploration and creation of knowledge. Our hallmark is a fully engaged lifelong learning approach integrating inspired teaching, collaborative research, creative activity, and service to society. Southern Miss produces graduates who are ready for life; ready to succeed professionally and as responsible citizens in a pluralistic society.”
The final sentence used to state: “The University nurtures student success by providing distinctive and competitive educational programs embedded in a welcoming environment, preparing a diverse student population to embark on meaningful life endeavors.”
The vision statement, which previously described USM as a “community distinguished by inclusiveness,” now reads: “The University of Southern Mississippi is distinctive among national research universities in adding value to our students’ experience, uniquely preparing them to be ready for life.”
The Clevelands take their annual crack at forecasting the upcoming Mississippi college football season. They also discuss where the Braves go from here (without Austin Riley). Also, there’s a discussion of the New Orleans Saints and Gardner Minshew.
Deep South Today has been awarded a $1,200,000 grant from The Skyline Foundation. The multi-year, general operating support grant is made possible through the foundation’s Just Democracy initiative, which has an emphasis on journalism among other priority areas.
“We are deeply grateful for this generous support from the Skyline Foundation, which affirms and underscores the critical role that local journalism plays in upholding our civic society and democratic institutions,” said Warwick Sabin, President and CEO of Deep South Today. “Through the high-quality investigative and accountability reporting of our newsrooms – Mississippi Today and Verite News – and our work to develop diverse and inclusive pathways into journalism careers and news leadership, we are honored to be part of the Skyline Foundation’s efforts to achieve a more equitable and just future.”
Founded in 2000 by Angela and David Filo, the Skyline Foundation is a family foundation that funds local, national and global organizations addressing programs at their roots and shifting systems toward a more equitable and just future. The Filos, along with a staff of eight foundation employees, view the “sole mission and everyday work of the foundation to be finding and funding organizations with inspired, innovative leadership whose missions align with the foundation’s values and vision for the future,” according to the Skyline Foundation website.
“Deep South Today is strengthening the media landscape – and our democracy – by fostering more informed, engaged communities in Mississippi and throughout the South,” said Jenny Montoya Tansey, senior program officer at Skyline. “We deeply admire their determination to hold power to account.”
As part of their Just Democracy initiative, the foundation considers journalism essential to a thriving democracy and supports organizations working to strengthen the news and information ecosystem and innovate new models. Support for Deep South Today’s newsrooms, Mississippi Today and Verite News, is specifically focused on the high-quality investigative and accountability journalism produced by the outlets.
Deep South Today joins a growing list of grantees under this program area, including MLK 50, Capital B, Futuro Media Group, Marshall Project, Type Media Center and City Bureau.
Deep South Today is a nonprofit network of local newsrooms that includes Mississippi Today and Verite News. Founded in 2016, Mississippi Today is now one of the largest newsrooms in the state, and in 2023 it won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Verite News launched in 2022 in New Orleans, where it covers inequities facing communities of color. With its regional scale and scope, Deep South Today is rebuilding and re-energizing local journalism in communities where it had previously eroded and ensuring its long-term growth and sustainability.
The grant is Deep South Today’s second-largest multi-year investment to date. It builds upon the American Journalism Project’s recent $2 million, three-year investment in the organization’s business and revenue operations.
A new committee convened this week at the Capitol to discuss changes to the state’s law requiring medical facilities to seek state approval before offering new or expanded services.
Health leaders said there is room to strengthen the law with reforms but cautioned against doing away with it entirely.
The law, which requires medical facilities to apply for a “certificate of need,” aims to lower costs and increase the accessibility and quality of health care in the state by avoiding duplication of services.
Critics argue that the law stifles competition in the state’s already sparse health care ecosystem and does little to decrease costs. Advocates say it ensures that communities have access to a range of services, not just those that are profitable for providers.
Nationwide, the laws have not accomplished much of what they were intended to, like increase quality or reduce costs, State Health Officer Dr. Daniel Edney told committee members on Monday.
But the law has been “extremely” successful at preventing health care companies from choosing only to offer only the most profitable services to patients, he said.
“When we’re looking at a very fragile health care framework, especially in rural areas of the state, cherry-picking can be disastrous,” he said. “It can be catastrophic.”
When health centers choose to offer only services with a high-profit margin, he explained, it can draw business away from hospitals that provide services at a loss, like inpatient and emergency care. He said this applies in both rural and urban areas.
Rural hospitals in Mississippi are struggling to stay afloat. Over half are at risk of closing, and 64% are operating with losses on services. More than half of Mississippi residents live in a rural area.
Richard Roberson, the incoming president and CEO of the Mississippi Hospital Association, said he believes it is unlikely that removing certificate of need requirements will incentivize investment in areas of the state with the highest need for new health care services.
“What I suspect is you’re going to see an overproliferation of services in more commercially insured areas,” he said. “And if you’re talking about folks coming in and investing money, that’s where they’re going to put it, where they can make their money back.”
Gov. Tate Reeves has advocated for abolishing certificate of need laws in the state, arguing that it will allow more competition and innovative health care services to flourish.
Bills seeking to repeal or reform the law have become run-of-the-mill in the statehouse. Last year, over two dozen bills sought to modify the state’s certificate of need law.
Legislators in 2016 made several changes to the law, including shortening application review timelines and increasing capital expenditure thresholds.
States were first required to implement certificate of need laws in 1974 in order to receive funding for certain federal programs. Today, 35 states operate certificate of need programs, and 12 have repealed their laws entirely, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Laurin St. Pé, CEO of the nonprofit Singing River Health System, said that without the certificate of need law, private equity-backed companies could open health centers near existing hospitals, drawing away patients with insurance.
Hospitals with emergency departments are required to provide emergency care to patients regardless of insurance status under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act. These hospitals depend on providing services to patients with insurance to offset losses from uncompensated care.
“If they siphon (insured patients) off, we’re not going to be able to take care of those with the most need,” he said.
Over 10 percent of Mississippians do not have health insurance, according to data from KFF.
Edney said that Medicaid expansion could offset risks associated with repealing the certificate of need law by lowering the rate of people in the state without insurance in response to a question from House Medicaid Chair Missy McGee, R-Hattiesburg.
Rep. Hank Zuber, R-Ocean Springs, is the co-chair of the committee on the certificate of need law. Credit: Mississippi House
“As we close the coverage gap, that does create more revenue into the system that flows to the hospitals,” Edney said.
Keith Norman, vice president and chief government affairs officer for Baptist Memorial Health Care, agreed.
“I believe expansion goes hand in hand with this conversation,” he said.
Though Edney and Roberson cautioned lawmakers of the impacts of repealing certificate of need law, they agreed that reforms could improve the program.
Roberson suggested that allowing hospitals to offer dialysis services without a certificate of need would reduce patient transfers to other hospitals. Many small hospitals do not have their own dialysis centers.
He also proposed allowing hospitals to operate home health services, which would reduce rates of readmission to the hospital. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services penalizes hospitals when readmissions top the national average. Hospitals in the Delta have in the past faced high penalty rates for readmissions.
Edney added psychiatric and perinatal care to the list of services he believed should not have to undergo the review process due to the state’s dearth of such care.
The application itself should also be reformed to prevent long, costly appeals, said Edney.
Last year, an applicant vying to provide “much-needed” ambulatory care in the Delta – a region of the state with limited health care services – withdrew its application after its certificate of need approval was contested. He said the hospital did not have the resources to sustain a potentially years-long legal struggle.
“We go through these long battles that are very costly, just to get to the same ruling,” Edney said.
The State Department of Health approves 95% of certificate of need applications, he said.
Edney also suggested that lawmakers consider more vigorous enforcement of existing certificates of need, noting that some health care facilities do not follow through on the commitments made in their applications.
“We’re lacking accountability and transparency in the CON world,” he said.
Rep. Henry Zuber III, R-Ocean Springs, co-chair of the committee, said the group will explore a range of possibilities for certificate of need reform before drafting any legislation. The group will meet again on Sep.10.
“Everything, everything is on the table,” Zuber said.
Jackson drivers heading south on I-55 on Saturday afternoon might have seen a towering cloud of smoke surrounding the city’s skyline. The fire, which a state agency confirmed started at a tire recycling facility beside McDowell Road in south Jackson, was still burning Monday morning according to WLBT.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality said in a statement Monday that the agency has been actively involved in the response to the fire and that emissions all fell below “action levels,” or legal limits. The statement doesn’t identify the property, but agency records show a matching address for a facility called MS Tire Recycling LLC.
“Community air monitoring has been a priority, and we are pleased to report that all monitored constituents of concern, including particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and benzene, have been measured below action levels, indicating that there is no current threat to public health from air quality,” MDEQ said. “Additionally, we are addressing fire water runoff by collecting oil resulting from the fire to prevent any potential environmental impact. MDEQ will continue to monitor the situation and collaborate with our emergency response partners to ensure the safety of the community and the environment.”
The agency hasn’t yet replied to a question about whether the fire will trigger any kind of investigation. According to the state’s air pollution laws, “Use of or burning of other combustible material that causes excessive visible emission (e.g., rubber tires, plastic materials, etc.) is prohibited.”
An archived page on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website says that tire fires “threaten air, soil, and water pollution.” Oil runoff from tire fires has even led to the creation of Superfund sites, including one in Virginia after a tire fire in 1983 lasted nine months.
A number of apartment complexes and schools are within roughly a mile of the facility, including Peeples Middle School and Reimagine Prep Middle School.
Whether Mississippi can limit impromptu citizen protests around state-owned buildings rests with a federal judge overseeing a lawsuit challenging how a state-run police and court in Jackson operates.
Senate Bill 2343, passed in the 2023 legislative session, became law in July. It calls for prior written approval for public demonstrations on a street or sidewalk at the Capitol or state-owned buildings or one where a state agency operates by the public safety commissioner or the chief of the Capitol Police, which falls under his agency.
At an Aug. 8 meeting, Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell said the agency is considering the First Amendment as it drafts regulations, and it wants to balance a right to speech with public safety. An agency spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
Critics of SB 2343 say the law would limit the right to protest that is founded in the First Amendment, and it could have a chilling effect on speech because of potential consequences, such as arrest, conviction in the soon-to be operating Capitol Complex Improvement District court and possible time served for a misdemeanor at the Central Mississippi Correctional Facility rather than a county jail.
“It’s the law itself where the problem lies,” said Frank Rosenblatt, a Mississippi College School of Law associate professor who teaches classes about constitutional law and the First Amendment.
In First Amendment law, speech regulations in a traditional public forum, such as sidewalks and public streets outside state-owned buildings, typically need to meet several requirements: They are content neutral, are narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest and leave open alternatives for speech.
Rosenblatt doesn’t believe the court will be satisfied with the Department of Public Safety’s “blanket explanation” of public safety as a reason to restrict speech.
U.S. District Court Judge Henry Wingate granted a preliminary injunction of SB 2343 last year in an ongoing lawsuit that consolidated a challenge of the law with a suit challengingHouse Bill 1020, which established the CCID court and directed state officials to make judicial and prosecutor appointments to the court.
Because a preliminary injunction of SB 2343 is still in effect, DPS currently cannot enforce any regulations it adopts stemming from the law.
Under the Mississippi Administrative Procedures Act, a public meeting about any state agency’s proposed regulations can be held if at least 10 members of the public request one in writing.
This threshold was met for the regulations DPS is drafting for SB 2343, leading to the Aug. 8 meeting at the Capitol.
Rosenblatt and one of his law students, Ren Allen, spoke during the public comment section and said they were seeking clarity about how the agency is writing the regulations, including how it would consider the First Amendment, how it defines public safety and wellbeing.
“I don’t have a lot of faith that this proceeding changed anyone’s mind at DPS about moving forward with the regulation implementation,” said Allen, who is in her final year of law school. “I hope I’m wrong and I hope that they heard the arguments and heard from their citizens.”
Draft regulations posted on the state’s administrative bulletin refer to a number of types of demonstrations including parades, athletics, block parties, festivals and other special events where there is expected to be 25 or more people who could be reasonably expected to block entrance and exit from any state building.
Requests for approval would need to be submitted at least 30 days before the event date, according to the draft regulations.
Approval or denial of a request would take place no longer than 10 days after receipt for events with a pre-established route. Action on special events would be taken no longer than four days after a request for approval. Written notification would be provided of the request’s outcome, including reasons for conditional approval or denial, according to the draft regulations.
In recent years, a number of demonstrations have taken place at the Capitol and other state buildings, including demonstrationsabout Jackson’s water system issues that passed by the Governor’s Mansion, protests of the U.S. Supreme Court overturn of Roe v. Wade and gatherings by residents and public officials to speak out against legislation.
A proposed 30-day minimum of notice can limit people’s ability to protest about current events, Rosenblatt said.
“All of those things would be off limits for people to speak about,” he said.
This year, statewide proficiency scores in English increased for a third consecutive year since the pandemic. While there may be a miraculous quality to the progress being made, educators will tell you that there is nothing supernatural about the improvements.
Here’s what educators and administrators in the state’s top districts for English proficiency say fuels improvements.
Emphasis on K-3 learning
Mississippi has completed 10 school years with the “third grade gate” in place. The most recent third grade English Language Arts proficiency results, released on Aug. 15 show 57.7% of students scoring proficient or advanced. In 2016, that number was 32.1%.
The work doesn’t start in third grade — the K-3 window has become a focal point for educators, a critical time when kids are expected to move from recognition of sounds and symbols to effective reading and comprehension.
In the Rankin County School District, emphasis on phonics has led to improvements. All K-3 teachers in the RCSD are trained in Phonics First.
“We found that our students’ ability to write and think had been hindered,” said Melissa McCray, director of elementary curriculum, instruction and professional development for the district. “We had to go back and clean up all of those foundational pieces. We’ve done that, and we’ve seen really good gains in our lower grade students, as well as in our upper grades.”
Pelahatchie second-graders use hands-on computer programs to enhance their learning, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. The school is an example as to why the Rankin County School District is one of the state’s high-performing districts. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
For the past three school years, RCSD has exceeded pre-pandemic performance levels, with 87.8% of third graders in 2024 passing the third grade reading assessment.
Kelleigh Broussard is assistant superintendent and executive director of curriculum and instruction for Long Beach School District, where the same improvements can be observed. She emphasized the importance of helping students build a strong foundation early.
“This all comes down to students being able to read, and read well,” she said. “And this is not an endeavor that unfolds in high school. I mean, ultimately, the end of course assessment in English II should be the culmination of 10 years of education in the public school setting.”
The Literacy Based Promotions Act, passed in 2013 and amended in 2016, set out guidelines meant to improve the way students were taught in grades K-3, grounded in the science of reading, through structured literacy — changes Broussard, a longtime educator, believes the entire state will benefit from in the long run.
Retaining and Supporting Teachers
The majority of school districts in Mississippi are facing critical teacher shortages — in Mississippi and across the country, teachers are hard to find and hard to keep.
“The teacher shortage is real. We have many open positions, even now with school starting tomorrow,” Jenny Webber, instructional specialist and testing coordinator for Harrison County School District, said in a July 31 interview. “But in Harrison County, we support our teachers in everything we do.”
Support looks different from district to district, but all agree it is an essential part of attracting and retaining teachers. Many districts foster a symbiosis between new teachers and experienced ones, where experienced teachers, formally or otherwise, are invited to share their expertise with newer teachers.
Financial incentives also go a long way. Oxford School District, for example, pays teachers $3,000 for being National Board Certified, on top of the $6,000 the state offers teachers with those credentials.
According to the Learning Policy Institute, teaching experience is, on average, positively associated with student achievement gains.
Students in Debbie Marler’s eighth grade English class use computer tablets to learn about the fictional character Sherlock Holmes and visuals to emulate Holmes in solving a mystery at Clinton Jr. School in Clinton, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“If I’m an experienced teacher, I’m better able to predict the rhythms of the school year and know how to navigate those a little better,” said Andy Scoggin, superintendent for the Clinton Public School District, which is consistently among the best schools in the state for ELA performance. “Not only have I had some experience with curriculum and instruction and assessment, but I’m also better able to predict the ups and downs.”
Though the contributing factors are nuanced, Mississippi’s best performing districts tend have a high percentage of experienced teachers.
Data-Informed Decision Making
From the district level to the classroom level, there is a robust amount of student data available that educators use to track both student and institutional progress.
“Our schools are taking the data of their incoming students and saying, ‘All right. This is where they are, here’s where we need them to be. What are the things we’re going to put in place to make sure they’re successful?’” Schoggin said.
According to Schoggin and Tamika Billings, the district’s first director of student assessment and student services, teachers in the district participate in professional learning communities outside of regular school hours, to review student data and collaboratively develop plans for improvement. As the data changes and the students progress, needs shift and so do the strategies.
“Just like a doctor will give everyone a different prescription, you have to be able to prescribe your students differently because they learn differently. And a lot of our teachers do that. And that is the proof in the pudding,” Billings said.
Students in Britney Freeny’s fifth grade English, Language, Arts class use computer devices to download books for the morning’s lesson at Eastside Elementary School in Clinton, Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2024. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
Calculated use of this data can go a long way in improving both instruction and student outcomes, according to educators. This information is also essential in helping districts identify and address inequities.
Rankin County School District’s switch from balanced literacy to structured literacy was informed, in part, by data showing that not all students’ needs were being met. Though both are theories about how to teach kids to read, experts say balanced literacy works for some kids and structured literacy, while necessary for some students, works for all kids.
“We did over 20 years of balanced literacy in our district and had success, but knew we were not really getting all of our students and not targeting all of their needs,” Angy Graham, RCSD executive director of academics. “If we looked at some of our subgroup data, we were missing some (kids) and that’s not right. That’s not what we’re in the business of doing. We need to educate all of our students.”
Redefining ready
What does it mean to be ready?
One way that school districts are improving student outcomes is through re-evaluating what it means for kids to be prepared. In many cases, this looks like building a students’ world knowledge — giving them context that not only helps them on state tests, but in life.
“Prior to this body of work, I thought I understood what that meant. But we’ve had to really dig in and understand what it means to bring world knowledge — we’ve got kids in our own communities who have never left McLaurin,” said Graham.
Jessica Hodges, who is also on the RCSD curriculum staff, recalled taking a group of middle schoolers to a restaurant and teaching one student how to order.
Pelahatchie Elementary second-graders learn phonics in Sharon Hall’s class, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. The school is an example as to why the Rankin County School District is one of the state’s high-performing districts. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“That was eye opening to me, to see your child look at me and say, ‘I don’t know what to do. What do I do in a restaurant?’ I think that was a changing point for me,” Hodges said.
The Oxford School District has kicked this notion into high gear, developing its own accountability model, Redefining Ready: Pre-K to Professional, that educators in the district track from elementary school all the way to graduation.
The model includes indicators, which if fulfilled, let elementary, middle and high school age students know they’re on the way to being academically ready, career ready and life ready. For example, high school students are encouraged to meet citizenship indicators like registering to vote and completing personal financial literacy coursework to progress toward being life ready.
“As educators in school districts in Mississippi, if our end goal is to only get them across the stage and to graduate, or pass and be proficient on the state assessment, then our vision is short-sighted for our children in our state,” Roberson said.
Leveling the playing field
Even as overall proficiency rates improve, achievement gaps and inequities persist at all levels, across all districts.
Research seems to suggest that addressing achievement gaps early can go a long way. A big part of the state’s work to address this issue is Early Learning Collaboratives, or programs that give students access to state-funded Pre-K. There are 37 ELCs statewide.
Pelahatchie Elementary School second grade teacher Sharon Hall and her students engage in a learning program called Eureka Math² at the school, Friday, Aug. 9, 2024. The program helps students visualize mathematics using hands-on tools. Credit: Vickie D. King/Mississippi Today
“Across demographic lines, students who come from any home in which there is not an exposure to robust vocabulary or reading at home are going to enter school with fewer words in their word bank. So, what we’re doing is honing in on early intervention,” said Long Beach’s Broussard.
The Long Beach School District works in conjunction with the local Head Start program to find and identify students who may benefit from starting school as early as possible.
“A lot of kids don’t have access to Pre-K or daycare because of being impoverished. But when you have something such as an ELC or if you partner with Head Start, you’re making more and more seats available to students who would otherwise not be able to be in the Pre-K setting. As each year goes by, the goal is to expand that opportunity to more and more students,” Broussard said.
In the Harrison County School District, teachers often find themselves going the extra mile — literally — to ensure that students are getting the support that they need.
“Some of our campuses offer after-school tutoring. We have some students who live far away from the campuses, so their parents can’t get them there. So, we’ve had some campuses go to neighborhoods to provide after-school tutoring,” Webber said. “The teachers drive to community centers and provide tutoring there.”
In some cases, educators described addressing inequity in ways that go beyond the textbooks, like providing kids with clean clothes and meals.
“I had someone tell me many many years ago that public education, when implemented with fidelity, was the greatest of social equalizers. And I believe that wholeheartedly,” Broussard said. “That’s how we’re going to disrupt perpetuation of generational poverty. That’s how we change that — it’s through education. And we all need to get swimming in the same direction.”
