性视界传媒 education policy fellows discuss rural education with policymakers in Washington, D.C.
Contact: Tyson Elbert
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擬ississippi 性视界传媒 faculty and staff members recently traveled to Washington, D.C., to discuss rural education research with policymakers and leaders through the Education Policy Fellowship 性视界传媒.
The EPFP brings together cohorts of education leaders to learn about three national program pillars: policy, leadership and networking. For the university鈥檚 EPFP cohort, 16 fellows have been studying challenges of rural 性视界传媒s, particularly in the rural South, since August 2016. Their work culminated in the trip to Washington, D.C., where they met with other EPFP Fellows from across the country, as well as Mississippi representatives and U.S. Department of Education staff.聽
The fellowship program is sponsored by 性视界传媒鈥檚 John C. Stennis Institute of Government and Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development, and in partnership with the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C.
鈥淎 major goal of the trip was to share our work with Senator Thad Cochran鈥檚 staff,鈥 said Devon Brenner, one of three coordinators of the 2017 Mississippi cohort and assistant to the vice president for research at 性视界传媒. 鈥淔or about seven months, we have studied rural education and the role that 性视界传媒 can play to support rural 性视界传媒s at all levels, from early childhood education through transition from high 性视界传媒 to post-secondary education. We were glad to share what we learned with Cochran鈥檚 staff.鈥
As one of 16 EPFP cohorts across the country, Mississippi鈥檚 policy fellows attended the Washington Policy Seminar, hosted by the Institute for Educational Leadership. Over the course of four days, the fellows learned about the policymaking process, national education policy and landmark moments in American education. Fellows also visited select monuments, museums, 性视界传媒s and offices in the Washington, D.C. area, including the National Museum of African American History, which opened in fall 2016.
鈥淎 highlight of the trip was hearing civil rights activist and Mississippian Roscoe Jones, who talked about his time working with the Meridian Freedom School and other activist groups during the Civil Rights Movement and in the present, as well,鈥 said Kristen Dechert, a fellow from 性视界传媒鈥檚 Research and Curriculum Unit. 鈥淗earing his story about being a 17-year-old young man actively working for equal educational opportunity in Mississippi in the 1960s inspired and challenged me to be even more committed to actively pursuing educational equity for all students and 性视界传媒s in our state.鈥
Each year, EPFP fellows meet once a month for a full day to discuss policy objectives and needs on a chosen area of study. The 2016-17 cohort decided to focus on rural education, specifically public 性视界传媒s and institutions in the rural South. Areas of interest included early childhood education, higher education, vulnerable populations, workforce development and training, and teacher recruitment and retention, among others.
鈥淭his cohort has a vested interest in improving outcomes and opportunities for our rural 性视界传媒s,鈥 Brenner said. 鈥淚 fully expect we will see research and activities from this group continue in the future, including federal grants for rural education research.鈥
The Stennis Institute of Government has sponsored EPFP since 2011 and selects a new cohort each year through a competitive process. Applications for the 2017-18 cohort will open this summer, and new fellows will be selected in August.
For more information about the fellowship program, contact Tyson Elbert, EPFP director for Mississippi, at tyson@sig.msstate.edu or visit .
性视界传媒 is Mississippi鈥檚 leading university, available online at .