OPINION: Southern Schools: Worst to First for 2 Reasons . . . ACADEMIC ACCOUNTABILITY and DISCIPLINE

Public education’s hottest topic is what’s known as the “Southern Surge.”  The term describes the best-in-the-nation academic progress being made for the past 5-10 years by schools in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, and other southern states.   

Historically, most schools in those states have been bottom-dwellers or close to it on national tests in Math, Reading, and English. However, after completely overhauling how they implement public education, the huge improvement in many southern states is leading the nation . It’s nothing short of incredible.  

This success is due to a commitment to a timeless truth on the part of “Southern Surge” states’ superintendents, governors, and legislatures.

Effective schools can ONLY be built on a foundation that combines strong discipline with a fearless commitment to rigorous, unpoliticized curriculum and academic accountability.  

Academic Accountability Gets Results

• Mississippi fourth graders lead the country in reading improvement.
• Louisiana’s fourth graders have led the nation in reading growth for the past 2 years, and rank fifth nation-wide for math growth.
•  Both states place in the top 4 of every nationally-tested academic category.
• The most recent national test scores show Alabama students placing first and third, respectively, in math and reading progress.

How Have These Southern States Made Such Great Improvement?  

• Math improvement has been accomplished through an unyielding commitment to students acquiring a foundation of basic skills mastery.
•  The Southern states’ reading improvement has resulted from rejecting faddish and “soft” reading programs. Instead, they focus on rigorous teaching of the long-proven phonics method.
•  Teachers are required to take intensive training in phonics as well, to ensure they know how to teach this method effectively. 
• Students who test too far behind in Math and Reading by third/fourth grade are NOT promoted, but must repeat the grade. 
• Leading “Southern Surge” states do not hand out worthless high school diplomas. Students are required to pass state exams in 12th grade and/or prove their literacy skills in order to graduate.

Disciplinary Policies Must Be Enforced

“Southern Surge” states have essentially the same rules for student behavior that most states have. They do one thing MUCH differently, however.

They don’t ignore or apologize for their strict behavioral standards. They strongly enforce them.

• Alabama is typical. It has a state law that says ALL students have a right to attend safe, orderly classes . . . and it’s enforced!
• Teachers not only have the authority to remove disruptive students from class, but administrators are required to administer discipline for all behavioral referrals before the student can return to class.
• Suspension and expulsion are used as frequently as necessary. They are not seen as undesirable last-resort options. They’re acknowledged as necessary tools for preventing more serious behaviors and for sending an important message: insubordinate behavior has no place in an effective school, and will not be tolerated. 

“Southern Surge” schools and similarly effective ones nation-wide are found primarily in Red States. Traditional Conservative values are simply more compatible with academic accountability and strong discipline than amoral Liberal beliefs. 

Without academic accountability, there is no high quality education.

Without behavioral consequences, safe and orderly learning environments cannot be maintained.

Have Nevada Schools Learned from the “Southern Surge” Example?  NO.

Our failing Nevada public schools could implement every effective strategy of the southern states and get comparable results, but our leaders refuse to do it. 

This is directly attributable to the uninformed and morally weak leadership of Governor Joe Lombardo and the Nevada legislature. While the former is Red(ish) and the latter is Blue, they unite in prioritizing political self-promotion over the education needs of Nevada’s children.  

To learn more about school success in the Southern Surge states and how it could easily be duplicated in Nevada’s schools, I recommend the following.

“Why Southern States are Outperforming Others in Education” (City Journal)

https://www.city-journal.org/article/mississippi-louisiana-alabama-education-schools-southern-states?utm_source=virtuous&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=cjweekly&vcrmeid=hFlQriT2oEC3In2auJUx4g&vcrmiid=kTvFQtGNH0ellLXpZpkkrA

“The Southern Surge In Education”  (National Review)

https://www.nationalreview.com/magazine/2025/10/the-southern-surge-in-education/

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