On Tuesday, Jan. 15, Mississippi First will host a 10th anniversary celebration at the state Capitol in Jackson to highlight the organization’s accomplishments and current projects.
“For the last 10 years, Mississippi First has championed transformative policy solutions ensuring educational excellence for every Mississippi child. We are proud of our positive impact on the lives of thousands of students in Mississippi,” said Rachel Canter, executive director of Mississippi First. “In this special moment, we also want to thank our many supporters and partners for their dedication to our work and mission.”
Over 25 years ago, Canter and Sanford Johnson formed a friendship riding the school bus in elementary school in Starkville. After graduating college, they both became teachers in the Mississippi Delta, and both later went to school to study public policy — Canter at the Harvard Kennedy School and Johnson at the Clinton School of Public Service.
While they share many experiences, their strongest commonality is their deep desire to improve education in their home state, said a press release from the Mississippi First organization.
This passion for education led the duo to launch Mississippi First on Oct. 15, 2008, as a 501c3 nonprofit.
Johnson, the deputy director of Mississippi First, directs all of the organization’s community-level policy outreach and advocacy efforts. He leads the advocacy campaign for the CHART Initiative and Common Core and spearheads the group’s campus outreach.
Johnson, who is based in the Mississippi First Clarksdale office on East Second Street, engages educators, students, parents and community members through presentations, trainings and project facilitation.
In the past decade, Mississippi First has passed two pieces of watershed legislation (Mississippi Public Charter School Act and the Early Learning Collaborative Act of 2013), become an important partner to education policymakers, and developed the groundwork for a teen health organization.
