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Falling Behind: Teacher Compensation and the Race Against Inflation

September 1, 2023

When we partnered with the Survey Research Laboratory (SRL) at Mississippi State University in 2021 to survey 6,496 teachers across the state about their pathway into the profession, financial well-being, career plans, and policy preferences, we had one mission: help struggling teachers.With about one in five teachers statewide participating, the 2021-2022 Mississippi Teacher Survey became a critical resource for crafting policy recommendations to address Mississippi's critical teacher shortage. Using this insight into Mississippi's educator pipeline, we subsequently released two publications detailing our analyses: Voices of the Shortage and Eyeing the Exit. The first report led to the largest single-year teacher pay raise in our state's history in 2022, while the second provided a deeper look into which teachers are at the highest risk of leaving the classroom.A year after the historic raise, Mississippi continues to see high levels of teacher turnover. We turned back to our reliable tool, surveying teachers, to confirm our hypothesis that record inflation, which reached a peak in 2022, was cutting into the gains promised by the teacher salary increase. With the 2022-2023 Mississippi Teacher Survey, we can confirm that record high inflation has largely negated the impact of the teacher pay raise.

Genealogy Research at MDAH

July 18, 2023

The Mississippi Department of Archives and History encourages both Mississippi residents and those who live outside of the state to utilize our resources when researching family history. MDAH provides access to death records, marriage records, census records, county records, court cases and records, Dawes Rolls, Enumeration of Educable Children lists, contracts from the Freedman's Bureau, and military records.MDAH wants to assist those looking to trace their family genealogy. With only minimal information, you can discover roots long buried by time, separation, and migration.

Eyeing the Exit: Teacher Turnover and What We Can Do About It

January 11, 2023

In March 2022, the Mississippi State Legislature passed the largest single-year pay raise for public school teachers in our state's history, raising teacher pay by an average of $5,151. Just months later, districts reported the highest levels of teacher attrition in years: one in five Mississippi teachers opted to not return to their classroom for the 2022-2023 school year, including one-third of all teachers in districts with an "F" accountability rating. These levels of attrition constitute a sharp uptick from previous years and beg the question: why are Mississippi teachers continuing to leave the classroom in droves?Mississippi First has been studying this question for the last few years. In the months leading up to the historic 2022 teacher pay raise, we surveyed 6,496 teachers—one in five teachers statewide—about their pathway into the profession, financial well-being, career plans, and policy preferences. In this report, we present the results from the survey to provide a nuanced answer about which teachers are leaving the classroom and why. We also examine the connection between attrition risk and standard of living to make the case that financial insecurity is rampant among educators and a major driver of early exits from the classroom. Finally, we offer a series of recommendations for policymakers to address teacher turnover and strengthen every facet of Mississippi's educator pipeline

Practical Guidance: What Nonprofits Need to Know About Lobbying in Mississippi

December 6, 2022

Bolder Advocacy's Practical Guidance – What Nonprofits Need to Know About Lobbying state law resource series is designed to help nonprofits determine if lobbying rules in their state might apply to their state or local work, and if they do, how best to navigate them!Each Guide Includes:Summary of lobbyist registration and reporting triggers in the stateKey critical takeaways for nonprofit organizationsFAQs – giving practical perspective on how to interact with the state rulesCase study for a hypothetical small student voting rights organizationList of helpful additional resourcesWho are these Guides For?Nonprofit Advocacy Organizations: Leaders and staff of nonprofit organizations that work on (or are thinking about working on) advocacy initiatives at the state or local levelLawyers: Lawyers and compliance professionals interested in working with nonprofit advocacy organizations doing state and local level workFunders: Funding organizations working to ensure strong organizational capacity and infrastructure for the groups they fund doing advocacy work at the state and local level

Growing Regional Food Systems & Economies

October 1, 2022

In 2016, some Black, Indigenous, and Asian American food systems stakeholders and allies from across the state of Mississippi were able to convene together for the first time to dream about transforming the local and state level food systems. This gathering was made possible by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF). The outcome of the gathering was the formation of the Mississippi Food Justice Collaborative with the common goal of improving the health of Mississippians through increasing access to healthy, local, culturally appropriate food, educating people about healthy food, building the capacity of local farmers, and increasing the amount of local food purchased by schools and institutions.This is a collaborative write up produced primarily by Noel Didla, in partnership with the co-stewards of the Center for MS Food Systems. https://alliancems.org/growing-regional-food-systems-economies/

MS Early Childhood System Asset Map Part I - Program Profiles

August 26, 2022

The Asset Map includes information about program funding, children served, and providers through data requests to state agency leaders and review of state and federal reports. We also gathered data about the well-being of children and families in Mississippi. Along the way, we shared the data and drafts of the Asset Map with the SECAC, relevant state agency leaders, and the public, ensuring their suggested revisions were included.

MS Early Childhood System Asset Map Part II - Strengths and Opportunities

August 26, 2022

The Asset Map includes information about program funding, children served, and providers through data requests to state agency leaders and review of state and federal reports. We also gathered data about the well-being of children and families in Mississippi. Along the way, we shared the data and drafts of the Asset Map with the SECAC, relevant state agency leaders, and the public, ensuring their suggested revisions were included.

Obstetric & Neonatal Emergency Reference Guide

March 25, 2022

The STORK Program is designed to help improve the outcomes of pregnant and newborn patients in rural hospitals. STORK includes didactic and simulation training to better prepare emergency healthcare professionals to recognize and manage common obstetric and neonatal emergencieswhile critical care transport teams are en route. 

Voices of the Shortage: 2022 Mississippi Teacher Survey

February 2, 2022

Building on the analysis provided in the report, Nothing in the Pipes: Educator Crisis in Mississippi, Mississippi First surveyed 6,496 Mississippi teachers to establish the state's most comprehensive resource for understanding the critical teacher shortage in Mississippi from teachers' perspectives.

Building A High-Quality Early Childhood System of Leadership and Teaching Practice

January 12, 2022

This document serves as the Year 5 Annual report for the Building a High-Quality Early Childhood System of Leadership and Teaching Practice initiative ("the initiative"). Data summary reports with feedback on individual trainings throughout the year (e.g., Kindergarten Academy, trainings geared toward childcare providers and trainings related to COVID and better utilization ofthe OWL curriculum) are available in Appendix 1.The University of Mississippi's Center for Research Evaluation (CERE) serves as the external evaluator for the initiative. CERE evaluated the first three-year cycle of the initiative (December 2016-November 2019) and is now evaluating the three-year continuation (December 2020- November 2023; thus, we are referring to this second year of the second three-year cycle as "Year 5"). The initiative aims to change the landscape of early childhood education across the state of Mississippi by training educators across all levels and roles about evidence-based teaching for early childhood. The initiative's focus is not only on educators gaining knowledge, but also on their implementation of what they have learned in their districts, schools, and classrooms. Thus, the evaluation aims to determine the extent to which (1) participants learned from the initiative's trainings and other activities, (2) participants implemented what they learned and (3) students' literacy increased. At a higher level, the evaluation considers what training or participant characteristics impact these outcomes.

Cape Toolkit

October 1, 2021

The 2021 CAPE Toolkit provides a comprehensive outline of the process MMA undertook to establish, evolve, and maintain the CAPE initiative. The Toolkit provides guidelines for other institutions looking to create similar initiatives within their own environments. The development of goals, the training of staff, the creation of an Innovation Lab, and the activation of the Community Advisory Council, are just a few of the features detailed in the Toolkit.

Democracy Defended: Findings from the 2020 Election

September 2, 2021

Despite an unprecedented series of challenges—a global pandemic, extreme weather, rampant misinformation, voter intimidation, and coordinated efforts to disenfranchise millions of voters of color—Black voters turned out in record numbers in 2020 to have their voices heard in one of our nation's most important election years.But let's be clear. The election did not go smoothly. Record turnout nationally and in many states was only possible thanks to a Herculean effort on the part of many non-profit organizations and many thousands of individuals and volunteers, as well as the enormous sums of money spent on election security and countering misinformation.