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Are parents a child’s first teacher and should they accept ultimate responsibility for nurturing their children?  Yes and yes, we all agree. 

Should aunts and uncles, grandparents, brothers and sisters all play supporting roles in helping parents nurture their children?  Certainly they should and we can even point to circumstances where grandparents or other family members stepped in and did a wonderful job as a substitute parent.

And what about a church, the local library, a child care center, the family doctor, or a close friend?  Are all of these valuable resources to parents, and their young children and do parents need and deserve their support?  The answer: a unified yes.

So what can we say about early childhood education?  How can communities excel at supporting parents?

Mississippi’s own Excel By 5 is helping communities do just this all across the Magnolia State.  Petal and Pascagoula, Monroe County and Mid-Jackson, West Point and Moss Point were the first to meet certification requirements and be recognized by Excel By 5.  More than twenty other communities are also hard at work.  They’ve all established community coalitions, performed community-wide needs assessments, and they are closing gaps to improve health care, child care, and parent support.

Community leaders representing hospitals, schools, doctors, libraries, parents, and a host of others are coming together to focus on supporting parents and children.  It’s an amazing thing to see what Excel By 5 certified communities and Excel By 5 candidate communities are doing to help children be healthy, happy and ready for school when they reach kindergarten.            

So it’s with great pride and a deep sense of satisfaction that I recognize Cleveland as the latest addition to Mississippi’s family of Excel By 5 certified communities.  Many in Cleveland are responsible for hours and hours of hard work over the last several years–this is an excellent achievement.  I would especially like to recognize the Cleveland School District and Cleveland’s Excel By 5 certification manager Patsy Clerk for their unwavering leadership and dedication.

Congratulations, Cleveland!

More and more communities are expressing an interest in Excel By 5.  What better thing could they invest themselves in?  For more information, go to www.excelby5.com.

 
Steve Renfroe, President

Excel By 5 Board of Directors

File: CLEVELAND_PRESS_RELEASE_5-3-11.pdf