Early Care & Education

K-12 education

Our grants and community partners:

• Support principals and staff with professional development.
• Provide funding for assistant teachers, technology upgrades and other resources that improve student success and district accountability scores.
• Support students with extended learning opportunities.
• Foster strong after-school relationships that positively impact students’ academic outcomes and overall development.

In Biloxi Public Schools, for example, we funded second-grade teacher assistants, a school nurse and technology upgrades in the elementary schools with the highest poverty rate and growing English language learners communities. These investments helped close the achievement gap between low and high socioeconomic communities – making the schools among the top-ranked in the state while also reducing discipline infractions and student absenteeism.

Teacher retention, a national education issue and statewide investment, is trending higher thanks to investments in a teacher residency program that includes learning supports and mentorship.

Our education investments in the state have helped Mississippi improve its national ranking from 50th to 35th in just a decade.

Notes from the field.

• Early childhood education: The backbone of Mississippi’s economy.
• Biloxi Public Schools has more student success to celebrate: Mississippi school district ranks 12th in state.
• Mississippi leaders develop a new quality framework for early childhood education.
• Rhea Williams-Bishop: Farm to early care programs are wins for Mississippi. Let’s keep growing them.
• Mississippi report: Investing in child care to grow state economy.
• Mississippi program diversifying teacher workforce.
• Lessons of Racial Equity in Mississippi.