Archives for category: Mississippi
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Mississippi Blogger: A Modest Proposal for Education Reform

By dianeravitch
June 15, 2015 //
11

Mississippi teacher-blogger James Comans has indulged in Swiftian satire in this post about “reform.” He informed me that he was inspired by the post “Is It Really ‘All About the Kids.'”

Comans assumes the voice of a reformster. Why not require teachers to live in monasteries? Why pay them? If they are “called” to teach, they should volunteer. If they get minimum wage, they should be shamed into donating their meager salaries to worthy causes,like charter schools.

Will this make teachers better? Who knows? It will surely cut costs. What else matters? That’s how you put Children First and show that Students Matter.

Categories Corporate Reform, Funding, Mississippi, Teachers and Teaching

Mississippi: Legislators Don’t Want to Fund Impoverished Schools

By dianeravitch
January 16, 2015 //
8

According to a fine article in “The Hechinger Report” by Jackie Mader, many schools in Mississippi lack the basics to provide equal opportunity or even a minimally decent education. Some districts have decrepit facilities and can’t afford textbooks or technology. Pay for educators is low, and class sizes are large.

“Nearly 200,000 voters signed a petition to amend Mississippi’s constitution, adding to it language that would require the state “legislature to fund an adequate and efficient school system of free public schools.” Known as Amendment 42, its advocates consider it the best hope for holding the state accountable for fully funding persistently failing schools.”

However, a majority of the legislature passed a competing amendment.

“But Republican legislators introduced an alternative amendment that was passed by the Mississippi House of Representatives in a 64-57 vote on Tuesday. It deleted any reference to making the state responsible for providing funding to schools. Pending approval from the Senate, both initiatives will go on the ballot this November, making voters choose between these two similar-sounding yet antithetical amendments.”

Mississippi has very low scores. Higher standards won’t help. Adequate resources would.

Categories Funding, Mississippi

Common Sense in Meridian, Mississippi

By dianeravitch
April 4, 2014 //
22

The Board of Trustees of the Meridian, Mississippi, public school district voted unanimously to terminate an agreement with Freedom Rock Christian Fellowship Church because the church planned to open a charter school.

 
“Freedom Rock is among a dozen groups statewide that have filed applications for the first charter schools in Mississippi. The Meridian church and its parent organization New Destiny Urban Community Development Corporation have submitted a petition for the New Destiny Charter Academy, also referred to as “The Academy.” The Academy is a two-phase project, which, in the first two years – SY2014-2014 and SY2015-2016 – will serve students from K-3, and beginning in SY2016-17 will begin additionally serving grades 4-5.
The school district and church entered into an agreement in October 2013 for operation of Freedom Rock’s Camp Destiny after school program, which was awarded a $1.7 million 21st Century Grant by the Mississippi Department of Education, with the money to be disbursed over 4.5 years.
“The Department of Education does provide those type of grants, and they are awarded to organizations that have significant relationships with school districts,” Taylor said.
Should Freedom Rock establish a charter school in the district, that would put them in competition with MPSD, Taylor said, adding that the establishment of a charter school in the local school district would mean a loss of state funding and educators for MPSD.
“For example, if a charter school came into our district and they were just mildly successful and were able to attract 100 of our students, the Meridian Public School District would lose 100 students, $1 million dollars, 15 teachers and we would have to close a school building. None of our expenses would go down, we would just lose that much money and teachers,” he said.

 

Common sense: The school board was not prepared to harm its public schools for the sake of a charter school run by the church.

 

Categories Charter Schools, Education Reform, Mississippi, Religion
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