A panel of education policy experts met in the Capitol city yesterday to discuss reform in Mississippi's public school system. Panelists say they want to see more educational options for parents and students statewide.
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A handful of national, regional and local policy experts are discussing the state of education in Mississippi. During an event hosted by Empower Mississippi yesterday, panelists agreed that the state needs fewer regulations and more school choice.
Donald Nielsen is a senior fellow with the conservative think tank Discovery Institute. He says Mississippi, the poorest state in the nation, ranks number 43 in educational achievement and 49 in college readiness.
"We have 140 districts or more in this state and all of them need to improve," said Nielsen. "And if they don't improve, the state of Mississippi is going to see limited opportunities for your children, limited employment and increase in poverty.
Empower Mississippi conducted a survey of families statewide. Elyse Marcellino, director of New Schools, says 50% of those respondents say they're dissatisfied with the state of education. She believes families should have more control over the decision about what's best for their child.
"People want more local control to provide more local solutions," said Marcellino.
"That is an opportunity to gain freedom from some traditional public school regulations. And, what I mean by that is giving stakeholders, parents in particular, families, and students the ability to say 'you're not serving me well... I'm going to go somewhere else.'"
Policy experts are calling on lawmakers to invest more money in school choice options, rollback regulations governing public education and change the way districts select and train teachers.