Teacher Quality and Student Achievement program area partners with several organizations that share the Center’s commitment to increasing student achievement in Mississippi by improving both teacher quality and teacher effectiveness. Programs in this area respond to every aspect of the teaching career… from pre-service teacher preparation at the university level to in-service teacher enhancement and engagement in the classrooms.
In addition, The Child Development and Early Learning Program Area collaborates with many state and national organizations for both the improvement of current early childhood programs and the creation of new early childhood opportunities for all of Mississippi’s youngest citizens.
Partners
AT&T of Mississippi
http://www.att.com
Barksdale Reading Institute
http://www.msreads.org/
The Barksdale Reading Institute was the first partner with the Teacher Quality and Student Achievement program area in 2008. The technical assistance and expertise from BRI provided the background information and research for the Center’s “Effective Reading Instruction” professional development and subsequent literacy coaching services in the Delta Promise Schools. In addition, CEI and BRI partner together to provide professional development in the area of early literacy instruction for colleges of teacher preparation and serve as ex-officio members on the Higher Education Literacy Council.
Corinth School District
http://www.corinth.k12.ms.us/
DOT-USA (TeachUp!)
http://www.dotrust.org/programs/education/teachup
DOT-USA and the Center for Education Innovation began its partnership in 2009 with the placement of ten (10) Teach Up! Interns in Delta Promise schools. There are now over 200 Teach Up! interns classrooms with the Center as one of several partners committed to bringing the skills of technology and technology integration into Delta classrooms.
In addition, the Center and DOT-USA collaborated in 2010 in designing and implementing the first Delta Technology Summit for school systems in the Delta. The 2nd annual event will take place in September of 2011.
Mississippi Building Blocks
http://www.msbuildingblocks.ms
The overall aim of Mississippi Building Blocks is to improve school readiness of children being served in child care centers that participate in the program. Additionally, the program is designed to increase the number of centers that participate in the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System (MCCQSS) program.
Mississippi Council on Economic Education
http://www.mscee.org/
MCEE works closely with the Leadership and School Improvement program director to plan and coordinate financial literacy seminars and simulations for students in the Delta-area of Mississippi.
Mississippi Department of Education
http://www.mde.k12.ms.us/
The Center’s work with the Mississippi Department of Education began in 2008, and it has continued in various partnership endeavors over past 3 years. From sponsoring events, to co-chairing committees and facilitating strategic planning, and even brainstorming on current topics and trends, the Center and MDE work in concert for the teachers and students in Mississippi.
Mississippi Department of Human Services, Division of Early Childhood Care and Education
http://www.mdhs.state.ms.us/ocy.html
Division of Early Childhood Care and Development administers the federal Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which provides subsidized child care to income-eligible Mississippi parent(s). This is primarily accomplished through the issuance of child care certificates which parent(s) can take to their provider of choice.
Mississippi Institutions of Higher Learning
http://www.ihl.state.ms.us/
When the Center opened its doors in the summer of 2008, MIHL opened its doors to the Center. Having similar program goals and expertise with MIHL, the Center was invited to participate in the Blue Ribbon Committee for the Redesign of Teacher Preparation. From that point on, the Center and MIHL have collaborated on projects to improve teacher preparation and to inform the higher education faculty who prepare teachers. In addition to participating and hosting meeting with MIHL, the Center assisted in the reconstitution of the Mississippi P-16 Council and the Higher Education Literacy Council. The Teacher Quality and Student Achievement Program Director also serves on several committees sanctioned by MIHL as either a community partner or as a representative for a designated discipline area.
Mississippi State University – Early Childhood Institute
http://www.earlychildhood.msstate.edu/
The mission of the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute is to develop and provide research-based practices and policy recommendations that promote high quality early childhood development and learning for all young children in Mississippi.
Mississippi State University Extension Service
http://msucares.com/index.html
nSPARC: Statewide Integrated Longitudinal Educational System
http://www.nsparc.msstate.edu/index.php?page=projects
The goal is to align the efforts of universities, community colleges, K-12 schools, and early childhood education in terms of academic standards and career expectations with the general intent of: (1) decreasing the number of high school dropouts; (2) increasing the number of high school students who graduate and enroll in and successfully complete a two- or four-year college degree; (3) increasing the number of students who successfully transfer from community colleges to universities; (4) increasing the number of four-year college graduates; (5) improving career-readiness at all levels of education; and (6) increasing the number of students who successfully gain employment. nSPARC coordinates activities for data sharing and reporting across all educational institutions in Mississippi
Children’s Defense Fund: Southern Regional Office
http://cdf.childrensdefense.org/site/PageServer?pagename=SRO_homepage
CDF’s Southern Regional Office opened in Jackson, Mississippi in January 1995 and works in the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and Mississippi. The Children’s Defense Fund grew out of the civil rights movement in these southern states, where slavery, segregation, and poverty have diminished the opportunities for generations of children and call for a special effort to put right.
Birth to Five Policy Alliance
http://www.birthtofivepolicy.org/
The Birth to Five Policy Alliance works to fulfill the American promise of opportunity for all. Forty-two percent of our nation’s children under 6 live in low-income families and the “opportunity gap” is rooted in these very early years. The Alliance’s goal is to shift the odds for our youngest, most vulnerable children so they can grow up eager to learn and ready for success in life.
State Early Childhood Advisory Councils (SECAC)
http://www.governorbarbour.com/links/earlychildhoodcouncil.html
The State Early Childhood Advisory Council of Mississippi (SECAC?MS) is committed to the vision of one coordinated system of quality care and education for Mississippi’s children birth to five. Mississippi’s young children and their families deserve a comprehensive system that provides equal access to quality care and education and quality services and supports needed for school success and lifelong learning. Through interagency collaboration, the State Early Childhood Advisory Council is committed to developing a stronger early childhood infrastructure built on existing early care and education systems and components to ensure coordinated service delivery at the community and state level for all of Mississippi’s young .
Mississippi KIDS COUNT
http://www.ssrc.msstate.edu/mskidscount
Mississippi KIDS COUNT is the leading resource for comprehensive information on Mississippi’s children and serves as a catalyst for improving outcomes for children, families, and communities. MS KIDS COUNT is funded, in part, by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Excel By 5
www.excelby5.com
The mission of Excel By 5 is to give every child a chance to live up to his or her potential and be ready to learn when they start school at age five.
Excel By 5 is a community-based certification designed to improve a child’s overall well-being by age five. The first-of-its-kind in the United States, this program emphasizes the important roles communities play in educating their children during their most formative years–birth to five.
Excel By 5 sets forth a variety of standards involving parent training, community participation, child care and health to help communities focus on supporting young children and their families. The certification process also identifies available esources
Mississippi Head Start Association
http://www.msheadstart.org
The Mississippi Head Start Association’s (MHSA) mission is to provide the state’s children and families with a range of individualized services in the areas of education and early child development, medical, dental and mental health, nutrition and parent involvement. Embracing a set of core value which promotes wellness, respects families cultures and diversity, supports family empowerment and community development, Head Start programs are designed to build on the strengths of families and communities.
W. K. Kellogg Foundation
http://www.wkkf.org/
We are reaching out on many fronts to stand up for children. We know that good intentions and financial resources alone don’t bring about social change, and that we cannot improve the prospects for vulnerable children by ourselves.
Real change begins with individuals and communities. It also requires the ability to bring people together—whether it’s local and national organizations with shared interests, or legislative bodies with the power and vision to advance the greater good. And real change requires learning from our past, leveraging our strengths and working with a common purpose. From small meeting rooms in local communities to large legislative chambers, we’re standing up together in ways that make a measurable difference.
