State Leaders Reflect on Mississippi Miracle at Ole Miss Summit

The symbolism was clear: Just as Apollo 11 launched three men toward the moon with no turning back, Mississippi embarked on an ambitious literacy effort in 2013. It transformed the state from 49th nationally in fourth-grade reading achievement to ninth in 2024.

"We could have crashed into the surface, and they could have never passed the bill," said Bryant, who championed the measure. "You may have to put everything on the line for that moon shot, and that is a motivator."

The state's literacy journey, and the passage of the Literacy-Based Promotion Act in 2013, was the focus of the Mississippi Literacy Summit, hosted by the university's Center for Excellence in Literacy Instruction.

The event also featured former senior policy adviser Laurie Todd-Smith, CELI director Angela Rutherford, lawmakers, and business and education leaders who helped shape and enact the legislation.

Lawmakers recently implemented similar measures for eighth-grade reading and math. Mississippi should continue striving to operate the nation's top-performing education system, Bryant said.

"I always used to say it would be really great to have a Top 10 football team, and we knew about that for a while, but it's more important to have a Top 10 educational system, and I'd like to be No. 1," Bryant said. "And until we make it to No. 1, we have got to keep working on it."

The 2013 law requires third grade students to pass a year-end reading assessment to be promoted to fourth grade. Amendments require K-3 students to have individualized reading plans if testing identifies them as struggling readers.

"I often say the Literacy-Based Promotion Act is really about holding adults accountable," Rutherford said. "There should never be a surprise at the end of third grade.

"If students are identified as struggling readers, schools are required to intervene, create an individual reading plan, notify families and provide support. Students are screened multiple times each year so progress can be monitored and interventions adjusted as needed."

The law did not stand alone, as education officials also strengthened teacher development standards.

The state changed its teacher preparation licensure requirements, adding coursework on the science of reading, which teaches new educators how the human brain learns to read. For teachers already in the classroom, the Mississippi Department of Education provided literacy coaches and professional learning opportunities.

"The summit highlights that there wasn't one single solution," Rutherford said. "The Literacy-Based Promotion Act was important, but it included many components that worked together.

"If you leave out pieces of that system, you're unlikely to achieve the same results."

Todd-Smith noted that speaking to students and children at the university gives her a lot of hope, but it also reminds her of the pressure to keep the momentum going.

"It's one thing to have a program and sit at a table and design it, and then a new governor comes in and it goes away," she said. "If you have a program that stands for the test of time, you have a structure and a system, and I think that's what we've built as a system."

Bryant said he gives a lot of credit to former Gov. William Winter, an Ole Miss alumnus. 

"Getting to know William Winter and to hear his passion really stirred me to help with this," he said. "So much of it comes back to this great university that has taken on that responsibility.

"Ole Miss really planted the flag for education and literacy and continues to do a tremendous job, and that's why we're here on this campus today."

Top: Jake Riddle (left), a third grader at Lafayette Upper Elementary School, reads 'Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11' to a crowd of leaders and educators as former Gov. Phil Bryant watches. Riddle and his class visited the university on Tuesday (Oct. 27) as part of the Mississippi Literacy Summit. Photo by Hunt Mercier/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services