Mississippi Department of Education

The Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) is hosting a series of regional literacy meetings for families of public-school students in kindergarten through grade 3. These sessions provide an overview of assessments and requirements under the Literacy‑Based Promotion Act, often called the third‑grade reading gate.

Each meeting will share practical strategies families can use to help children become strong readers a skill essential for success in grade 4 and beyond.

Families of K–3 students are encouraged to attend the session most convenient for them. No registration is required. All sessions run from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.

Schedule:

• Tuesday, Sept. 8 – Cleveland – D.M. Smith Elementary School, 715 S. Martin Luther King Dr., Cleveland
• Thursday, Sept. 10 – Jackson – Shirley Elementary School, 210 Daniel Lake Blvd., Jackson
• Thursday, Sept. 10 – Moss Point – Family Education Center, 3524 Prentiss Ave., Moss Point
• Wednesday, Sept. 16 – Laurel – Nora Davis Elementary School, 1305 Martin Luther King Ave., Laurel
• Thursday, Sept. 17 – Long Beach – Harper McCaughan Elementary School, 19200 Pineville Rd., Long Beach 
• Thursday, Sept. 17 – Columbus – Brandon Central Office Boardroom, 263 McArthur Drive, Columbus, MS 
• Tuesday, Sept. 22 – Jackson – Boyd Elementary School, 4531 Broadmeadow St., Jackson
• Monday, Sept. 28 – Horn Lake – Horn Lake Intermediate School, 6585 Horn Lake Rd., Horn Lake

For questions, reach out to MDE’s Regional Literacy Coordinators:

• Aimee Hawkins — ahawkins@mdek12.org
• Summeral Newman — summeral.newman@mdek12.org

Additional reading resources are available at strongreaders.com. Together, we’ve got this!