The Real Story Behind Mississippi’s School Turnaround

Have you seen the story, The New York Times ran about Mississippi?

For years, Mississippi ranked near the bottom nationally in education. Today, adjusted for poverty, it’s at or near the top in fourth grade reading and math.

It would be easy to reduce the story to “science of reading.” But that’s not actually what happened.

Yes, Mississippi changed its reading curriculum, but it also did something much more significant. The state sent literacy and math coaches into low-performing schools, not to work directly with children, but to teach teachers.

Let me say that again: The goal wasn’t to fix students. It was to build adult skill. And it didn’t stop there.

The state:

• Raised academic standards
• Approved aligned curriculum
• Created clear accountability measures
• Gave schools credit for growth—especially for students in the bottom 25 percent
• And embedded coaching inside that system

This is what caught my attention. Coaching didn’t exist in isolation, it was part of a coherent strategy.

Too often, I see schools and districts invest in coaching without building the conditions that allow coaching to thrive. They hire wonderful, thoughtful coaches, but:

• There’s no shared vision for what coaching is for.
• There’s no alignment to curriculum or instructional priorities.
• There’s no protected time.
• There’s no clear way to measure growth.
• There’s no leadership development happening alongside the coaching.

And then, when there aren’t stellar results across the board, coaching gets blamed.

Coaching alone is not a miracle cure.

But coaching embedded in a coherent system? That has the potential to be transformational. And that’s what Mississippi did. They didn’t just add coaches.

• They clarified their North Star: Students are here to learn.
• They aligned curriculum to that goal.
• They invested in training for the adults.
• They measured growth.

In short, they not only raised expectations, but they provided the support and accountability required to meet them. And that’s why they got amazing results.

If you’re leading or designing a coaching program, this is the question worth asking:

Is coaching layered on top of your system? Or is it woven into it?

That question is exactly why I created Implementing a Coaching Program.

It’s a comprehensive process for designing, launching and sustaining a Transformational Coaching program embedded within your ecosystem. One that is set up to consistently translate to improved student outcomes.

Because when coaching is:

• Anchored to a clear purpose
• Supported by leadership
• Aligned to curriculum and instructional priorities
• Designed with implementation in mind

It stops being “extra.” It becomes transformative.

Mississippi’s story isn’t simple. There are still challenges. The gains are strongest in the early grades. And no single strategy explains everything. But one thing is clear:

They systematically invested in adult learning, and that changed what was possible for children.

If you’re thinking about how to strengthen or redesign coaching in your system, I’d love to invite you to explore Implementing a Coaching Program.

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