Let’s Build on What Works in Mississippi Public Education
Dr. Phil Burchfield, Executive Director
Mississippi Association of School Superintendents
As a former public school superintendent, Phil Burchfield has seen the tremendous benefits of helping young people find their place in the world. In his current role as executive director of the Mississippi Association of School Superintendents, he is working to provide resources, advocacy, leadership, policy information, training, support, renewal, and public relations services that improve the quality of public education.
It’s only September, but conversations have already started about what the Legislature should consider in 2027.
We should always be looking for ways to improve education for Mississippi’s children. What concerns me is when those conversations assume that public education itself is the problem.
There are already discussions about dismantling parts of our public education system and consolidating school districts.
Are our public schools perfect? Certainly not. We have challenges that deserve our attention and honest conversations about how to address them. But improving public education is very different from tearing it apart.
Consolidation deserves thoughtful consideration as well. There are circumstances where it may make sense, particularly when a district does not have the human or financial resources to provide students with the opportunities they deserve. But enrollment alone should not determine whether a community’s school district should exist.
Instead of moving pieces around, let’s spend more time asking what we can build together.
One district may have found an effective way to recruit teachers. Another may be improving literacy, attendance or career preparation. Another may be finding creative ways to stretch limited resources. Let’s share those successes. Let’s learn from one another.
Mississippi has outstanding educators and school leaders doing exceptional work every day. More than 90% of Mississippi’s schoolchildren attend public schools. That gives us an enormous responsibility—and an enormous opportunity—to make the system better.
We should challenge public education to improve. We should hold ourselves accountable. But we should also recognize what is working and build on it.
Our children do not need more curveballs, moving targets or uncertainty about the future of their schools. They need us focused on the work that matters.
There will always be disagreements about how to improve education. That is healthy. But our shared goal should be bigger than any individual proposal or political agenda.
Mississippi’s children deserve our best effort. And they deserve all of us working together to give them the education and opportunities they need to succeed.