White House Summit on Early Learning Hosts King County and the City of Seattle Leaders

SEATTLE, Dec. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- King County and the City of Seattle are recognized nationally for building a successful collaborative model to bring together elected officials, community leaders, business representatives, government agencies and people of faith to coordinate early learning, childhood development programs and family outreach. It is because of this recognition that King County and the City of Seattle will be well represented at this week's White House Summit that is focused on early learning.

King County Executive Dow Constantine, City of Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Seattle Council President Tim Burgess will participate in the Summit which will be held at the White House this coming Wednesday, December 10. The White House is anticipating 300 attendees from around the country will join them for the day-long event. President Obama and Vice President Biden are both scheduled to be at the Summit.

Accompanying Executive Constantine, Mayor Murray and Council President Burgess are [PLACEHOLDER: Dr. Patricia Kuhl, a world-renowned research scientist focused on early child neuroscience, from the University of Washington Institute for Learning and Brain Science (I-LABS)]; Sheila Capestany, Executive Director of Seattle-based Open Arms Perinatal Services which is considered as the national model for providing strong community-based support for women through pregnancy, birth and postpartum; and Jackie and Mike Bezos of the Bezos Family Foundation which continues to make significant investments in early childhood scientific research and innovative early learning programs across America.

The King County and City of Seattle delegation speak at the Summit with a unified voice on the urgent need for counties, towns and cities to begin building early learning communities. This follows the unanimous adoption of a Resolution presented at the U.S. Conference of Mayors in late June by Mayor Murray calling for a commitment to build an Early Learning Nation by 2025, and the ongoing County-wide initiative by Executive Constantine – Best Starts for Kids – which highlights the importance of focusing on children and their families. In November, Council President Burgess was instrumental in getting wide support from Seattle voters to implement a city-wide Pre-K program that stands as a national model.

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SOURCE Bezos Family Foundation