How Mississippi Solved its Literacy Crisis
The state ranked 49th in reading in 2013. By 2025, it ranked 9th. Mississippi is no longer the butt of the joke, and other states should be taking notes.
Education
K-12, early childhood, community college, and other district and state programs.
Reading list: Education
Reporting by other newsrooms, summarized and linked
Reading list·Chalkbeat
An Indianapolis school pairs reading intervention with housing help for families
A nonprofit-run Indianapolis Public Schools campus rebuilt around family support and daily reading blocks is showing early gains after years as one of the district's lowest performers.
Reading list·The 74
Tulsa schools flag eviction filings so families get help before kids fall behind
A Tulsa Public Schools partnership with a local nonprofit alerts parents facing eviction to legal aid and rental assistance, aiming to keep children enrolled.
Reading list·Chalkbeat
Colorado's new program gives teachers help buying their first home
A state-funded down payment assistance program for public school employees has already helped 85 first-time homebuyers, with more expected as it scales.
Reading list·Chalkbeat
Philadelphia cut school weapon confiscations by two-thirds through relationship-building, not just security
District data show weapons confiscations down 67% and fights down 22% since 2021, which the safety chief credits to conflict mediation and trusted-adult networks rather than added policing.
Reading list·The 74
What reading programs that actually raise scores have in common
An analysis of thousands of schools that beat literacy expectations for their poverty levels finds a recurring set of practices, from protected instructional time to explicit foundational-skills teaching.
Reading list·The 74 / Missouri Independent
Missouri's charter oversight agency returns unspent fees to schools it monitors
A lean state charter commission has rebated $685,000 in surplus oversight fees to the schools it sponsors, the third such rebate in recent years.
Reading list·Chalkbeat
Denver's threat-of-closure policy pushed four struggling schools to improve ratings
A district policy pairing extra support with the threat of closure after repeated low ratings preceded rating gains at four Denver schools this year.
Reading list·Chalkbeat
A Tennessee district's math software trial shows gains came from the platform, not the AI tutor
A two-year randomized study of 18 middle schools found faster math gains from Khan Academy even though students barely used its bundled AI chatbot.
Reading list·The 74
Hawaii holds back roughly one in 13 freshmen, and its own data show what happens next
The 74 reports that Hawaii's ninth grade repeater rate runs well above the national average, and that students who fail two or more freshman classes rarely finish high school.
Reading list·Chalkbeat
Denver hit its early literacy target and missed its 3-8 reading goal, four years after publishing both
Chalkbeat checks Denver Public Schools' 2022 strategic plan against the 2026 test results it promised to move.