Early Childhood Education Sets Path for Future Workforce

WASHINGTON, April 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The vital connection between early childhood education and a quality workforce merits immediate attention, according to the D.C.-based Committee for Economic Development (CED). Leading an effort to engage businesses in early childhood issues, CED joined the Mississippi Economic Council's Leadership Mississippi Program and other partners to tour Mississippi and foster discussion among business and civic leaders there.

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"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."

CED and its partners met with business leaders in 10 cities, presenting new research on brain development and providing 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 - The State Chamber of Commerce, "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."

Private sector leadership is another distinguishing asset in Mississippi, according to Petro. Almost all of the early childhood initiatives in the state are privately funded, including Mississippi Building Blocks, a three-year pilot project focused on quality care and improved school readiness.

"The philanthropists and corporations that are funding Mississippi Building Blocks and other programs are not waiting on state or federal solutions," said Dr. Laurie Smith, Executive Director of Mississippi Building Blocks. "They recognize that there is much that can be done now to lay the groundwork for statewide early education in future years."

In the Mississippi Delta, several innovative programs are underway already and can serve as models for how to mobilize an entire community around the needs of young children. At the Greenville and Greenwood tour stops in the Delta, local leaders talked about the progress being made there in programs like the Children's Defense Fund's SPARK Mississippi (Supporting Partnerships to Assure Ready Kids).

"Only when the interests of businesses, parents, child care centers, schools, churches, health providers and others were brought together did we see a truly transformative process in the pilot communities," said Tom Gresham, member of the Delta Council, an economic development organization representing 18 Delta and part-Delta counties in Northwest Mississippi. "The idea of partnerships is the key to our being able to give every child the greatest opportunities beginning at the earliest age."

Funding partners in the Mississippi tour were the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the Mississippi Center for Education Innovation.

For more information, visit the Committee for Economic Development at www.ced.org, the Mississippi Economic Council at www.mec.ms or Mississippi Building Blocks at www.msbuildingblocks.ms.

SOURCE Committee for Economic Development