Cellular South Foundation Supports Mississippi Building Blocks Early Childhood Education Program With $100,000 Grant
Wireless Carrier Wants All Children Able To Start Kindergarten Ready To Learn And Succeed
Ridgeland, Miss (Jan. 22, 2010) – The Cellular South Foundation, the corporate philanthropic arm of the nation's largest privately owned wireless communications provider, today announced a $100,000 grant to Mississippi Building Blocks, an early childhood education initiative that aims to improve the quality of pre-school education and build a stronger future work force in the Magnolia state.
The grant was announced at a "Next Steps for Early Childhood Education" conference in Jackson jointly sponsored by the Mississippi Economic Council's (MEC) Leadership Mississippi program and the National Committee for Economic Development.
Mississippi Building Blocks is a four-year, $10.6 million pilot program funded largely by the private sector that serves some 50 child care centers and 150 early education classrooms throughout the state. Mississippi is the only southern state and one of 12 with no state-funded early childhood education programs.
"Early childhood education is one of the best investments we can make in our children's future," said Jim Richmond, director of Corporate Communications for Cellular South and a member of the Cellular South Foundation board of directors. "If we can improve early childhood education in Mississippi, it will reap long-term benefits for our state's future workforce and the prospects for a stronger economy and better quality of life."
Research shows that for every dollar invested in high-quality, comprehensive programs supporting children and families from birth, there is a $7 to $10 return to society in reduced need for special education, higher graduation and employment rates, less crime, less use of the public welfare system and better health.
State business and education leaders lauded Cellular South's support for the important education initiative. "We're encouraged that Cellular South is supporting efforts to help young children arrive at kindergarten ready to learn and prepared for the social adjustment," said Dr. Tom Burnham, state Superintendent of Education. "Schools and teachers are doing everything they can to prepare students to succeed, but they cannot do it alone. Mississippi Building Blocks is a prime example of how Cellular South and other businesses are supporting our children and helping the Mississippi Board of Education reach its No. 1 goal – to mobilize resources and support to help ensure that students exit the third grade reading on grade level by 2020."
There are long-term benefits for the state's economic development future from a successful early childhood education program, according to Blake Wilson, president of the Mississippi Economic Council (MEC). ""By stepping up to help fund this program, Cellular South is sending a strong message to its employees, customers and our state's leaders that it cares about making a difference in children's lives," he said.
Mississippi Building Blocks, launched in December 2008, is an outgrowth of work on the early childhood education issue by a coalition of education and business leaders involved in MEC-sponsored programs, including Momentum Mississippi and Leadership Mississippi.
"We're committed to improving young children's school readiness and work force development," said Dr. Laurie Smith, executive director of Mississippi Building Blocks. "Cellular South's grant will help us meet this commitment through the purchase of needed classroom materials and teacher training in participating child care centers."
The program's goals include:
- Improving school readiness factors for young children
- Increasing the number of centers that participate in the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System program
- Improving teaching and learning in licensed centers
- Strengthening parenting skills
Smith said the program provides incentives to child care centers to participate, including on-site mentors, classroom materials and scholarships to help pre-school teachers obtain certification and associate degrees in child development technology.
Business consultants also provide financial management assistance and parent advocates educate parents about critical developmental stages for their children and help them get more involved in their early education. "At a time when they learn most rapidly and ravenously, young children deserve quality preschool education programs to supplement the invaluable life lessons they learn at home," Smith said.
"The primary challenge that Mississippi public schools face is that too many children walk into kindergarten and they are unprepared to learn how to read," said Claiborne Barksdale, CEO of the Barksdale Reading Institute and a Mississippi Building Blocks board member. "They lack vocabulary, background knowledge about books and they start out so far behind that far too many of them never catch up, despite the best efforts of teachers, parents and others in public schools."
With over 80 percent of Mississippi's four year olds and about two-thirds of all children in some sort of licensed child care facility, the infrastructure is in place to systematically ensure all children are able to start kindergarten ready to learn, Barksdale said. "If children are successfully exposed to language and books, then they can confidently walk into kindergarten and be ready to learn how to read," he said.
About Cellular South Foundation
Cellular South is committed to supporting education, strengthening communities and improving lives. Through its philanthropic initiatives and partnerships and employee volunteerism, Cellular South and the private, non-profit Cellular South Foundation support projects, programs and partnerships that create opportunities, make connections and address community needs where our customers and employees live and work. Support for education has been a key focus for Cellular South for over 20 years and we are passionately committed to helping students succeed in school, in the workforce and in life. For more information about the Foundation, visit www.cellularsouthfoundation.org.
