Don’t Abandon What’s Working: Mississippi’s Pre-K Success vs. the School Choice Push

In recent years, Mississippi has made notable strides in public education. One of the shining examples is our state-funded pre-K program, which has received national praise for its effectiveness. According to a new report, Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaboratives (ELCs) not only meet but exceed quality benchmarks—placing the program among the top in the country for standards, teacher qualifications, and student outcomes.

So naturally, one would assume lawmakers would double down on this success—investing in what’s working, raising teacher pay, and providing the resources needed to keep momentum going.

Instead, they created a competing program.

Rather than strengthening the high-performing ELCs, some lawmakers decided to roll out a separate pre-K voucher initiative under the banner of school choice. Their reasoning? “Parental freedom.” But freedom without accountability often leads to fragmentation, inconsistency, and missed opportunities for children.

Mississippi’s Rising National Rank

Mississippi has climbed to 16th in the nation for education—an achievement that took years of targeted effort, bipartisan cooperation, and trust in local educators. Our state’s growth is not by accident. It’s the result of literacy coaches, teacher development, instructional consistency, and community-based strategies like the ELCs.

So why are we shifting direction now?

School choice proponents want to divert public dollars to private institutions that aren’t held to the same standards. Unlike public schools, which face rigorous testing, reporting, teacher certification, and financial oversight requirements, many private recipients of voucher dollars operate with limited transparency. That’s not accountability. That’s a double standard.

A Tale of Two Approaches

The message being sent to Mississippi’s public educators is clear: Even when you succeed, it’s not enough. Instead of bolstering the very schools and programs responsible for our rise in national rankings, we’re being told to compete with entities that don’t play by the same rules.

Meanwhile, many public educators are asking: What incentive is there to stay in this system when every win is met with another political hurdle?

Teacher morale is strained. Pay raises have lagged behind inflation. And now, funds that could support expanding proven programs, such as ELCs, are being redirected.

We Don’t Fear Accountability—We Just Want It to Be Fair

Public schools aren’t afraid of standards—we meet them every day. But when politicians talk about “freedom” for private schools while binding public schools with red tape, it reveals the true agenda: privilege without responsibility.

We should be building on success, not undermining it. We need investment in what we know works—not political experiments that come at the cost of stability, transparency, and student equity.

Final Thought

Mississippi’s public educators have delivered results under intense scrutiny. If private programs want public dollars, they should face the same expectations.

Until then, let’s stop tearing down what’s working—and start building it up even stronger.