Evans said that kindergarten teachers see the advantages kids who’ve attended pre-k have over those who have not had that early education every day when they look out at their classrooms.
"There are stark differences between students that go through that structured environment versus those that do not,” Evans said. … “They come in reading versus those that really have never had a book. I know that's an extreme, but you literally see those inequities.”
The number of four-year-olds in Mississippi enrolled in public pre-k programs is rising, but Evans says it's not fast enough. In 2015, 38% of four-year-olds in the state were in public pre-k programs. By 2022, that had increased to 58%.
Evans also addressed the issue of school vouchers during the forum. For years, conservative activists and some lawmakers have been calling for the state to adopt a voucher program to subsidize the cost of parents choosing to have their children educated outside of the public school system. Evans said that if lawmakers enact such a program, nonpublic schools receiving public money should be held to the same accountability standards.
“If one single dollar of public money goes into a private school, every single child in that school has to be subject to the very same assessment pieces as every single student in a Mississippi public school” Evans said. “And what I would tell you is that's not just Lance Evans’ opinion. That will be the opinion of any superintendent that you talk to, any principal, any teacher. We all have to be held to the very same measure.”
Those accountability standards used by the Mississippi Department of Education to evaluate school and district performance are currently being reworked. Evans said the new model will be weighted to incentivize districts to focus on workforce development.
“There is a direct correlation between the expectations of business and industry and the outcomes that we need to be making sure that we're providing for that business industry with our students,” Evans said. “We got to make sure in the end our students are either employed, enrolled or enlisted.”
MDE's accountability task force is currently working on recommendations for lawmakers to consider during the 2025 legislative session so the new accountability model can be in place for the 2025-2026 school year.
