Mississippi
Leaders: Advocates for Early Childhood Education
Hear from business
leaders from throughout Mississippi, including Jim Barksdale of
Barksdale Management; Anthony Topazi of Mississippi Power; Steve
Renfroe of Chevron; Haley Fisackerly of Entergy Mississippi; Mayo
Flynt of AT&T; and Robin Robinson of Sanderson Farms; as well as Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant and State
Representative Kelvin Buck on the video, Mississippi Leaders:
Advocates for Early Childhood Education. Others featured include
early childhood education leaders Oleta Fitzgerald of the Children's
Defense Fund and SPARK; Nita Thompson of Head Start; Dr. Laurie
Smith of Mississippi Building Blocks; Steve Williams of the
Mississippi Center for Education Innovation; and nationally-recognized
early childhood education expert Dr. Cathy Grace of Mississippi
State University. Also watch presentations from the 10-city Next
Steps Tour. Simply click on the videos below:
To Download the Mississippi
Leaders: Advocates for Early Childhood Education Video
Over 1,175
Attend Statewide Tour Focusing on Early Childhood Education
Mike Petro of the Washington,
D.C.-based Committee for Economic
Development speaks during the Next Steps Tour Stop in
Jackson.
The vital connection between early childhood
education and a quality workforce
was brought to the forefront during the 10-city Next Steps
Tour that was held March 22-26.
The Tour was organized and sponsored by the Mississippi
Economic Council's Leadership Mississippi and the
Washington, D.C.-based Committee for Economic
Development. Local, State and National leaders in Early
Childhood Education took part in the meetings, which were
held in Meridian, Brookhaven, Natchez, Gulfport,
Hattiesburg, Jackson, Greenville, Greenwood, Columbus and
Tupelo. The tour was generously funded by a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.
“Mississippi is one of the first states to
bring its business community to the table early on this issue,”
said Michael Petro, vice president of Government Relations
for CED. “We hope that other states follow their lead,
directing the interest of business leaders toward the
economic case for early childhood education.”
The meetings discussed new
research on brain development and provided an overview of
early childhood initiatives. Leaders were asked to support
local and statewide programs that are addressing the issue,
and to become strong voices in their own communities for
higher quality early care and education.
“Business people are the
unlikeliest of messengers about early childhood issues,”
said Blake Wilson, president of Mississippi Economic
Council, “but because education shapes the workforce of
tomorrow, we know that businesses become the direct
beneficiaries of high quality early childhood programs.
"The
education pipeline leads directly to the doors of business
and industry, so it only makes sense for us to pay attention
to the quality of what goes into that pipeline in a child's
early years and do what we can to ensure that the young
adults who come out are prepared to join a quality
workforce."
Dr. Laurie Smith, director of
Mississippi Building Blocks, discusses the
private-sector funded education program during the Jackson meeting.
Steve Renfroe of Chevron
Products
Company and Excel By 5
Oleta Fitzgerald with the
Children's Defense Fund and SPARK
Steve Williams of the
Mississippi
Center for Education Innovation
Roger L. Shields, Brig. Gen.
(Ret.)
with Mission Readiness:
Links
for Early Childhood Education Resources
Mississippi Building Blocks Mississippi Center for Education
Innovation Excel By 5 SPARK Mississippi Mississippi Head Start Assocation MSU Early Childhood Institute Mississippi KIDS COUNT Mission Readiness: Military Leaders
for Kids
Links to Handouts from Next Steps Tour
For Navigating Early
Childhood Education in Mississippi
For Information on Mississippi
Building Blocks
For Mississippi Building Blocks
Funders
For CED Executive Summary
For Facts about SPARK
Mississippi
For Information on SPARK
Mississippi
For Information on Excel By 5
For Information on Children's
Defense Fund
For Information on Head Start
For Information on Mississippi
Forum
- Education Innovation in Tough Economic Times
.jpg)
