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Rural Early Childhood Will
Pilot Community Initiative in Mississippi
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First Lady Marsha Barbour
(third from left) joined teachers and
school administrators in four
Mississippi communities, including West
Point, to celebrate the kick-off of
Excel by Five. Steve Renfroe, public and
government affairs manager for
ChevronTexaco (left), Cathy Grace,
director of Rural Early Childhood
(second from left), and Shay King
(right) also participated. Click on
photo for larger view. |
DEC. 31, 2004 |
First
Lady Marsha Barbour
of Mississippi announced this month that the National Center for
Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives will pilot a
community-based education project focused on young children in
four Mississippi communities.
ChevronTexaco and the Phil Hardin Foundation
of Meridian, Mississippi, are funding the project, called Excel
by Five.
The center, known as Rural Early Childhood, will work with
community leaders in Cleveland, West Point, Petal, and
Pascagoula to foster greater family involvement, health, and
early intervention services for young children, with the goal of
preparing the children for kindergarten. The communities will
strive to earn Excel by Five certification in recognition of
their family-friendly policies.
“The program is designed to give communities and those
responsible for early child care and education a structured set
of achievable steps toward Excel by Five certification,
regardless of the size of the community,” Cathy Grace, Ed.D.,
director of Rural Early Childhood and a professor at Mississippi
State University, said.
Barbour praised ChevronTexaco for making a $650,000 investment
in the project.
“ChevronTexaco recognizes the economic, quality-of-life and
educational benefits related to early childhood education and
development,” she said. “Our children – and ultimately the
entire state – will reap these benefits as a result of the
company’s further financial investment in Mississippi with this
generous grant. The company’s actions underscore the important
role the private sector employers have in encouraging community
and economic development.”
The Phil Hardin Foundation contributed $35,000 to the pilot.
Rural Early Childhood is a program of Mississippi State
University with funding from the U.S. Department of
Education.
46 Blackjack Road / P.O. Box 6013 / Mississippi State, MS /
39762
The contents of this web site were developed under a grant from
the U.S. Department of Education. However, those contents do
not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of
Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal
Government.
To subscribe to an occasional newsletter, send an e-mail message
with “subscribe ruralec” in the subject line to
ruralearlychildhood@aristotle.net.
To unsubscribe, send an e-mail message with “unsubscribe ruralec”
in the subject line to the same address.
Contact
Rural Early Childhood
with questions about the Rural Early Childhood site.
© 2004-2006 Mississippi State University
Updated
12/01/2006
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