At the Nov. 1, 2024 meeting of the Commission on Teacher and Administrator Education, Certification, Licensure and Development, Mississippi Department of Education officials presented statewide results from a retention and recruitment survey and a high-level summary of the 2024 educator preparation provider (EPP) annual performance report. Dr. Corey Murphy introduced the item and turned the presentation over to Dr. Van Cleave.

Dr. Van Cleave said 6,903 Mississippi teachers completed the 2022–23 administration of the non‑baseline 20‑question recruitment and retention survey. “Of those increased days for sick and or personal leave was a clear front runner at 53%,” she said, identifying expanded leave as the single most commonly cited recruitment factor in the statewide responses.

The presentation identified several other factors teachers flagged as important. Respondents attributed interruptions during instructional time largely to student personal devices; concerns about safe school environments were most frequently linked to campus security and student behavioral factors; and school leadership emerged as the second‑largest factor associated with teacher attrition. The department also reported that districts using modified academic calendars indicated those calendars were somewhat more likely to increase retention in those districts than not.

On compensation, Van Cleave said respondents primarily cited the increased cost of living due to inflation rather than competition with other professions or other state salaries as the chief driver of calls for higher pay.

Murphy and Van Cleave also summarized EPP metrics included in the forthcoming annual report. The department reported 1,824 candidates admitted to traditional, alternate‑route and alternate certification pathways for the 2022–23 cohort (reported in lag year), 2,299 candidate completions across pathways, and a candidate satisfaction rate of 94.55% for those who completed Mississippi educator preparation programs. Murphy noted the annual report fulfills federal reporting under Title II of the Higher Education Act and state reporting requirements under Mississippi law.

The presentation described statewide rollout milestones for the professional growth system (PGS) portal within the MECA platform, which the department said received PGS data submissions from 100% of districts for 2023–24; 30 districts had opted for full implementation of all observation, coaching and feedback features, and 83 districts had joined a PGS community of practice. Van Cleave also noted continuing leadership supports and the relaunch of the Elevate Teachers conference.

The department framed the slides as a high‑level overview; the full EPP annual performance report will be posted on the Mississippi Department of Education website following State Board of Education approval. The commission received the presentation as an information item and did not take formal action on the report at this meeting.