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News

Durant National Night Out and Back to School

News Release to Holmes .County Herald, August 10, 2018  On August 7 a record crowd attended Durant National Out and Back To School Party at the historic Durant Depot in downtown Durant.  About 75 volunteers worked to provide Durant families with school information,...

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State rising in child well-being

State rising in child well-being By ROBERT LEE LONG Community Editor   Jul 6, 2018   Volunteers assist with laying the foundation of a community garden in DeSoto County. File Photo Mississippi is no longer in last place when it comes to the well being of children. In...

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PETAL’S EXCEL BY 5 COALITION SPRUCES UP BORN LEARNING TRAILS

PETAL'S EXCEL BY 5 COALITION SPRUCES UP BORN LEARNING TRAILS By HASKEL BURNS,  93 READS THU, 06/21/2018 - 11:18AM It’s been about 10 years since members of Petal’s Excel By 5 Coalition and United Way instituted Born Learning Trails at Hinton Park and Friendly Park,...

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Vicksburg close to getting Excel By 5 Certification

Vicksburg close to getting Excel by 5 certification By Brandon O'Connor Email the author Published 7:25 pm Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Vicksburg and Warren County are close to being certified an Excel by 5 community. Click here for article!  

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Initiative seeking to make impact on early education

TUPELO – When former Lee County administrator and teacher Shelly Brooks retired last year, she still felt a need to be part of the community that had been such a major part of her life for nearly 25 years. Test scores for kindergarten readiness have climbed every year...

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Children’s Health Fair Reaches 520 Students!

DONNA SUMMERALL Staff Writer life@dailytimesleader.com Tuesday, May 8, 2018 WEST POINT, MS The Children's Health Fair sponsored by North Mississippi Medical Center - West Point and Excel By 5, has been teaching children healthy habits for 17 years. The Children's...

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Ocean Springs is now a certified Excel By 5 Community!

OCEAN SPRINGS, MS (WLOX) - Excel by 5 communities are continuously growing here on the Coast. On Friday, Ocean Springs School District officials cut the ribbon to the Excel by 5 resource center at Magnolia Park Elementary. Ocean Springs has become the 43rd certified...

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Champions Tour Player Reads to School Kids in Biloxi

One pro golfer took a break from practicing for this weekend's tournament to visit a group of children in Biloxi. Esteban Toledo read a book about golfing to a group of preschool students at the ABC Child Development Center on Popps Ferry Road. Children counted golf...

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Excel By 5 Names Eileen Beazley Executive Director

Excel By 5 Board President Nadine Coleman today announced that Eileen Beazley has been selected to serve as Executive Director of one of Mississippi's leading early learning advocacy and engagement organizations active in 38 communities across Mississippi. Beazley...

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Toledo Champions Literacy on MS Gulf Coast

by Amy M. Wilson, Tulane University and Susan Lamey

One professional golfer and 15 4-year olds equals a morning of fun and learning.

Champions Tour professional Esteban Toledo took time to read “Count on Golf” to a group of preschoolers at ABC Child Development Center while in Biloxi, Mississippi, last week to play in the Mississippi Gulf Resort Classic presented by C Spire.

The event was an effort to support the Excel by 5, an innovative early childhood community certification process focusing on a community’s young children. The program emphasizes the important role parents and early childhood educators play in the lives of children during their most formative years — birth to five.  Biloxi is currently a certified EB5 community among many others on the coast.

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Please Visit the Excel By 5 Community Pages

Excel By 5 continues to grow.  Please take a few moments and visit our community pages to learn more about the great things happening to support children ages 0-5. If your community is not participating with Excel By 5, please contact the state office at...

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John Miller: Maintain the Momentum for Quality Pre-K in Mississippi

 By JOHN MILLER

A Sun Herald Forum – March 31, 2014 

Mississippi made history in 2013 when it created its first-ever state preschool program. As a bipartisan effort led by state Sen. Brice Wiggins, R-Pascagoula, it was a remarkable start to a journey that should enable all of our kids to be truly “ready-to-learn” when they head off to school. Unfortunately, it’s just the beginning — we need to ensure the program has the resources to succeed for the sake of families today and crime reduction in the coming years.

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Hub City Excel By 5 Now Certified

Hattiesburg American, Wednesday, August 14, 2014 by American Staff Writer Ellen Ciurczak

The City of Hattiesburg has become a certified Excel By 5 community after more than two years of hard work gathering a coalition of volunteers from the education, health, business, non-profit and government sectors — all invested in supporting young children. 

Hattiesburg becomes the 12th community in Mississippi to obtain Excel By 5 certification.

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