MUW begins Wise Start Early Childhood Project
MISSISSIPPI UNIVERSITY FOR WOMEN (WCBI) – Mississippi University for Women launches a new program to boost Early Childhood Education.
The Wise Start Early Childhood Project received a $500,000 grant to get started, giving the program $100,000 for the next 5 years.
The Center of Education Support at Mississippi University for Women continues to bolster and boost Early Childhood Education with local funders.
“A lot of this work got started because of Excel by Five and our community,” said Penny Mansell, Director of the Center of Education Support. “They’ve helped us initiate and get all these projects started. What this funder is doing is coming in and helping us to sustain them.”
Director Penny Mansell said the Wise Start Early Childhood Project gives the center a home and sustainability for the future.
“We know that young children, from birth to 5, that is the time period where their brains grow massive amounts,” Mansell said. “The research all says 90% between birth and age five. So we’ve got to capture these families and these educators and these teachers in these classrooms and really make sure what they’re doing is going to help support those children and their young brains to make sure we have an economy and a workforce in the future.”
The plan is to collect data from this hub, making it sustainable for communities throughout the state.
“We know that the teachers in the field, especially in those early educator classrooms, need more respect,” said Mansell. “They need help and support. We also know that our economy is facing a critical crunch. We know that Mississippi businesses need early childhood classrooms and spots for parents to be able to work. We know that’s the largest untapped workforce in the state. And without supporting these early childhood classrooms and these centers and without supporting these parents and what’s going on, we have got to do that so our economy is thriving in the future.”
The community is being brought into the Excel by 5 Meetings to know exactly what they need.
“We all bring something to the table that we can then use to make sure we know the needs of the community,” Mansell said. “And we’re not just making decisions based on what we think, but we’re actually using the data from the community, what our families are telling us to make that difference.”
The goal is to support anyone in early education, including Head Start teachers.
The Associated Press reports the White House is proposing to eliminate Head Start funding.
However, Mansell said multiple systems of care are necessary to make it work for every family.
“It’s a scary time to be thinking that we could eliminate Head Start, and while we understand changes are necessary, they’re also hard,” Mansell said. “I would hope we would all look at what that’s going to do to the American family and to our future, because those babies have got to have a place to learn and grow and develop, and those mommies and daddies have to have a safe place for their child to go and learn and be educated.”
Mansell hopes this project elevates support and resources to give children the best opportunities.
Mansell said they are grateful for all their donors who have supported them, and they are grateful for this next step.
They will continue to need support from the community as they continue.
MUW is launching an Early Childhood Education Degree this Fall for Pre-K and Kindergarten teachers.
