Archive for July 2021
The success sequence matters. So does good policy.
There was a small dustup on Twitter when State Auditor Shad White recently Tweeted about the Success Sequence saying, “The Left never wants to talk about the solution, for some reason: if you at least finish high school, get a full-time job, and wait until age 21 before getting married and having children, it’s almost…
Read MoreWill homeschooling trends continue this fall?
With a new school year in focus, we recently filled out our Certificate of Enrollment to homeschool for the upcoming year in Mississippi. As we enter our fourth year of homeschooling, it’s hard to believe homeschooling – not long ago a tiny sector of the education landscape – would grow in the way it has.…
Read MoreNew report shows state was right to free beauty professions from licensure
A new report uncovering the cost – and associated debt burden – with cosmetology schools shows the state made the right decision in freeing a number of beauty professions. During the last session, the state removed licensure requirements for the safe practices of eyebrow threading, applying makeup, and applying eyelash extensions. More than a decade…
Read MoreNow Hiring: Director of Education
Our mission is to help every Mississippian rise by removing barriers to opportunity in education, employment, and our justice system. We are action oriented and work to educate and engage citizens. When it comes to education, we believe that every child is deserving of a quality education that instills in them a passion to be…
Read MoreHelping people find freedom
“We are helping people find freedom.” That’s how Tommy Wilson describes the work he’s doing through Living Free Ministries of Corinth. Wilson is on a mission to help people battling addiction because he understands what it means to be lost in a world of drugs and darkness. “I was addicted to drugs from age 18-32,”…
Read MoreThe Equal Act would close crack, cocaine sentencing disparity
Mandatory minimums, three-strike rules, and expanded felony classifications created a time of mass incarceration, promoted racial disparities in imprisonment rates, and placed an extremely high cost on the American taxpayer. From the Anti-Drug Abuse Act to the 1994 Clinton Crime Bill, the failures of the federal government to adequately address issues of drug abuse and…
Read MoreEmpower name inaugural Rise Award recipients
Empower Mississippi has awarded Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, Speaker Philip Gunn, and several members of the legislature with their inaugural Rise Awards in recognition of their work on the most important issues facing Mississippians. “It is vitally important that we recognize that boldness is needed to move Mississippi forward,” Empower President Russ Latino said. “The…
Read MoreMississippi the Largest Decline in Enrollment in the Fall of 2020
Mississippi had the nation’s fastest-improving school system before the pandemic, but also the nation’s largest decline in enrollment in the fall of 2020 at 4.8%. Last fall Chalkbeat featured Mississippi parent Angela Atkins to illustrate the trend: Fearful of sending her two children back to school as the coronavirus pandemic raged in Mississippi, Angela Atkins…
Read MoreEducator hopes to open charters in Columbus and Jackson
Students in Columbus and in Jackson could soon have another option when it comes to education. Baskerville Squared (BSquared) Inc., based in Texas, is proposing two new schools – one in Columbus and one in Jackson. The organization’s application is before Mississippi’s Charter Authorizer Board and leaders say they are hopeful that they will be…
Read MoreNow Hiring
Empower Mississippi is in search of a full-time Executive Assistant to the CEO and Development Manager who will support the CEO at a high level, work with him to maintain and improve our strategic fundraising plan, help connect him with new donors, and manage cultivation for existing donors. The position will have full authority to…
Read MoreThe bi-partisan push to limit excessive licensing
A new executive order from the Biden administration targets occupational licensing, saying such licenses can “impede workers’ ability to find jobs and move between states.” This has been a bi-partisan trend in D.C. with similar comments from both the Obama and Trump administrations in years past. The order tasks the Federal Trade Commission with exercising…
Read MoreFamily receives the news they were hoping for
Richard Michael Moore has received parole a week after the Mississippi Earned Parole Eligibility Act became law. Under the new law, Moore was able to stand before the Mississippi Parole Board for the first time in 19 years. “Our son has been given a chance to make a life outside of prison,” Holly Moore, Michael’s…
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