Episode 23
The Mississippi Miracle & Evidence-Based Education
Featuring Dr. Molly Macek
August 11, 2026
Dr. Molly Macek, former director of education policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and newly appointed principal of Nouvel Catholic Central School in Saginaw, Michigan, joins host Gerson Moreno-Riaño on the Wisdom and Influence podcast at Cornerstone University to discuss education policy, literacy reform, and the gap between policymaking and classroom practice. Drawing on nearly two decades as a teacher, administrator, and policy analyst, Dr. Macek explains how education laws succeed only when school leaders implement them with fidelity. The conversation examines the Mississippi Miracle—Mississippi’s rise from 49th to the top ten in fourth-grade reading through its Literacy-Based Promotion Act and science-of-reading strategies—and contrasts those reforms with Michigan’s current literacy policies. Dr. Macek also addresses the essential role of parent-school partnerships in Catholic education, how school choice empowers families to hold schools accountable, and why private schools can serve as innovation models for public institutions. Listeners will gain a seasoned practitioner’s perspective on how evidence-based literacy instruction, policy accountability, and family engagement together shape student outcomes.