It鈥檚 no secret that education and its funding has never been a top priority in Mississippi. Even last week鈥檚 news that for its students is not enough to cause a legitimate uproar. The news is really just more of the same for my home state that has grown accustomed to these types of rankings being the standard.
Case in point: - the latter being legislation that calls for full funding of a 鈥渕id-level鈥� public education for the state鈥檚 K-12 students. Supporters of the group Better Schools, Better Jobs are pushing for the Mississippi legislature to pass the original MAEP but legislators are trying to kill it instead. The MAEP has been around since 1997 and has only been fully funded twice in that time period (both times were election years). Only two groups of legislators felt that the students in Mississippi deserved more than a 鈥渕id-level鈥� education? If that isn鈥檛 a rallying cry for education advocates, teachers and parents alike, I鈥檓 not sure what is.
Fully-funding the MAEP is the first step to committing to better educational opportunities for the students of the state. The success of students in Mississippi will not turn completely around overnight, but there needs to be a dedicated effort from lawmakers down to the teachers in the classroom to make that happen. It starts with, at the very least, adequate funding.
If you would like to invite Dr. Lynch to speak or serve as a panelist at an upcoming event, please email him at lynch39083@aol.com.