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Feb. 14, 2005 Volume 29, Issue 24 |
Child development veteran joins Early Childhood Center
A former Mississippi Public Broadcasting administrator now is leading a pilot program developed by the National Center for Rural Early Childhood Learning Initiatives.
Annjo Lemons of Madison recently was chosen to direct Excel by Five, a community planning initiative of the Mississippi State University-based center. She previously was head of early childhood programming in MPB’s Education Services Division.
Funded by Chevron Texaco and the Meridian-based Phil Hardin Foundation, Excel by Five initially is focusing on pre-kindergarten children in Cleveland, Pascagoula, Petal, and West Point. Developed by state education and child care professionals, the grassroots endeavor has established standards related to parent training, community participation, child care, and health that support pre-K youth and their parents.
“The program is designed to give communities, regardless of size, and those responsible for early child care and education a structured set of achievable steps toward the Excel by Five certification,” said Early Childhood Center Director Cathy Grace.
If the project proves effective during the pilot stage, the center may seek to replicate it in rural communities of other states, the MSU education professor said.