Canton resident and single parent Cynthia knew she wanted a better education for her son, Will, who attended Canton public schools, a district with a consistent Grade-F rating.
Cynthia noticed when Will was only in the fifth grade that he could potentially be involved in what she saw as Canton’s gang culture in the future. Will aspired to go to medical school when he got older, but Cynthia knew in order for Will to succeed he needed to attend a better school district.
When Cynthia realized moving to a better-rated school district and attending private school were both out of her budget, she made the biggest sacrifice in order for her son to have the life she felt he deserved, Empower Mississippi Founder Grant Callen told Columbus Rotarians on Tuesday.
“‘I couldn’t figure out how to get him into Germantown,’” Callen said, quoting Cynthia. “‘I ended up having to give up custody of my son, and he went to live with his father who wasn’t a good guy, but he lived in the right district. It was the hardest decision I ever had to make, but I would do it again because he got a great education.’”
Callen said throughout his time advocating for public school education in Mississippi, he has heard hundreds of stories similar to Cynthia’s, stories of people who long to flourish in the state but do not have the necessary resources to do so. Callen said it has been his quest to identify the reasons why people in this state flourish and others do not and what conditions that state can create to help others flourish.
In Mississippi, only one-third of the population is financially thriving, Callen said. Barriers are what cause people to struggle, he said, such as expensive housing rentals in top school districts or even limits as to what jobs people can work based on unnecessary licensing. In order to help individuals like Cynthia, Callen created Empower Mississippi in 2014 as a solution center helping solve the state’s biggest challenges.
“We are a place that cares about people from Mississippi who want to see Mississippians rise, climb, stay in Mississippi and flourish,” Callen said. “Our mission is about helping people rise here.”
Children’s educational future and destiny are highly correlated with the value of the house their can afford or their ability to pay for private school tuition, Callen said.
In order for children to attend a different school district than the one they are zoned for, they must move to that school district or gain approval to transfer, which does not come easy in Mississippi. Both districts must allow for the transfer, but unless there are extreme circumstances, Callen said this rarely happens.
“Mississippi has some of the strictest rules on cross district transfers,” Callen said. “In some states, it doesn’t matter where you live. You can shop around and find a great public school in a neighboring community, but it’s not like that in Mississippi.”
To diminish the educational barriers within the state, Callen said his group is lobbying state legislators on the success of Florida’s model of education.
Twenty years ago, Florida’s education resembled that of Mississippi’s, an education system in the bottom 10 states in the country. After Florida’s political leadership changed the system and allowed parents options and the freedom to choose which school was best for their kids, the entire school system prospered.
With expanded choices such as students having the ability to attend a public school in which they are not zoned or attending a charter or magnet school, and with the nation’s largest online program, Florida is now in the top 10 states for education, Callen said.
“What Florida found, and what I know Mississippi would find, is when you give parents choices within the system, it’s a rising tide that lifts everyone,” Callen said. “Parents find a way to make sure their kids get what they need.”
Even though some failing schools throughout the state closed down due to these changes, Callen said overall, the education system succeeded because parents had more options.
Along with education, Empower Mississippi fights for workplace reform and the state’s justice system.
Callen said far too many people who have the ability to work in Mississippi do not. To improve workforce participation rates, he said his company fights to eliminate workplace barriers such as having to obtain licensing for jobs that should not require it, such as simply shampooing someone’s hair at a salon or being a tattoo artist.
“There is nothing more impactful to people than having meaningful work to provide for your family,” Callen said.
Empower Mississippi works to help those who have been incarcerated get plugged into work after they have served their time. Along with this rehabilitation, Callen said Empower Mississippi wants to work to decrease crime rates, while also decreasing incarceration rates.
While the state has much work to accomplish before it can resemble a state like Florida, Callen said he wants Empower Mississippi to provide a platform for people across the state like Cynthia to share their stories in order to help lawmakers understand the impact of policy.
“If we can get these things right, if we can make sure that every kid growing up in Mississippi has access to a good education so that they can find meaningful work and provide for their family and stay out of the justice system,” Callen said. “… I think this state has no limit of what we can be or what our people can do.”
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
