Even though I’m many years into my career, I’ve recently taken to telling people what I want to be when I grow up. As much good work as I’ve done teaching multiple generations of students in Clarksdale, Mississippi, I think the next frontier for me, and maybe for all teachers, should be policy.
I’ve seen a lot between now and teaching my first class of students decades ago. Many of these experiences inspired me, like seeing kids lead successful lives after school, giving back to the Delta and to the world. At this point in my career, I have personal connections with nearly all of my students, whether it be having taught their cousins or siblings, or this past year, when I taught the daughter of one of my first students.
At the same time, I’ve also seen things that have changed my thinking. Students and their needs have changed drastically over the years, and our school systems aren’t always keeping up.
This is a multifaceted problem. Many students have interests that aren’t offered as classes in traditional high schools. I have students who want to go into cosmetology, welding, trucking, and other trades. After high school, these students should pursue a trade program specific to these fields, but too often, “college-for-all” is the rallying cry that reaches these students. Meanwhile, other students are a strong fit for a college or university, but they don’t have access to the support they need to look beyond their local institutions.
It’s a riddle. As a high school teacher, it’s my peers’ and my responsibility to try preparing our students for life after high school, but the systems we work within can make that difficult. Policymakers can influence those systems, but they’re less aware of the realities that students and families are facing. We need people who can cross over from practice into policy.
Becoming a Change Agent fellow through Teach Plus Mississippi helped me make that transition.
As a fellow, I’ve been able to go to Jackson and meet with elected officials, sharing my perspective from the classroom. I’ve been able to enter rooms where legislators craft the rules that guide my work as a teacher. This mixing of educators’ experiences and policymakers’ expertise is mutually beneficial. The legislators’ rules—and my teaching—are both better because of my exposure to this process.
Consider the 2022 policy change that made college and career readiness education a graduation requirement, a move championed by other advocates who are close to the classroom, the Woodward Hines Education Foundation. That change helped skyrocket Mississippi to first in the country in 2025 for the highest percentage of students completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Through my experience in the fellowship and seeing how legislation gets crafted, I’ve also seen how detrimental it can be when teachers or other frontline practitioners are not involved. For example, due to state policy, Mississippi school districts can only add new courses if the district can fund them itself for the first year. For smaller districts like mine, this requirement poses a funding problem. As a result, my school has a harder time adapting to students’ changing needs, and students become less engaged in school and less prepared for their futures.
I am fairly positive that no teachers were involved with crafting that short-sighted policy.
These specific realizations are exasperating, but learning more about the world of policymaking in general has been tremendously galvanizing. At a time in my career when I should be thinking about winding down, I am instead gearing up to further my passion.
I’m encouraging teachers to follow me in finding a second love in education policy. My heart has always been in supporting and building up the next generation. For many years, that looked like lesson plans, late nights, and lots of understanding. But what I’ve learned through this fellowship is that the classroom isn’t the only place where our students need our support. Their lives are just as determined by policy as adults’ are, and few are as qualified as teachers to inform it in a way that creates the best futures for them.
This MFP Voices opinion essay reflects the personal opinion of its author(s). The column does not necessarily represent the views of the Mississippi Free Press, its staff or board members. To submit an opinion for the MFP Voices section, send up to 1,200 words and sources fact-checking the included information to voices@mississippifreepress.org. We welcome a wide variety of viewpoints.
Mississippi Free Press stories are always free because we believe everyone should have access to quality journalism. Donations from readers like you make that possible. Please click here to give to help sustain and grow vital, people-over-power journalism for Mississippians.
Readers can sign up for our free newsletters here.
