Mississippi News
Mississippi doubles number of 4-year-olds in pre-K
Mississippi doubles number of 4-year-olds served in state-funded pre-K program
Mississippi will gain five new early learning collaboratives in August 2022 to serve more of the state's youngest learners.
On Thursday, the State Board of Education approved the additional collaboratives, which will serve 840 new 4-year-old students. These additions were the first to be approved in an expansion of the program that will double the number of students served.
Early learning collaboratives are pre-K programs made up of partnerships among school districts, Head Start agencies, childcare centers, and nonprofit groups. There are currently 18 collaboratives serving more than 3,000 children across the state.
These early learning collaboratives will be located in the Brookhaven School District, Kosciusko School District, Rankin County School District, Scott County School District, and South Panola School District, bringing the total number of early learning collaboratives across the state up to 23.
“When early learning collaboratives increase in Mississippi, it means more of our state's preschoolers will have access to a quality early childhood education,” Carey Wright, state superintendent of education, said in a statement.
First created in 2013, the collaboratives have been nationally recognized for their high quality and success in preparing students for kindergarten. In 2019, 77% of students in collaboratives tested as kindergarten-ready, 8% higher than other state-funded pre-K programs.
However, the collaboratives have not been widely accessible in the past, serving only 8% of the state's 4-year-olds in 2021.
The Legislature doubled funding for the collaboratives in the 2021 session, bringing the total state spending on the program up to $16 million. With this increase in funding, the Department of Education has begun approving new collaboratives and will be requesting more proposals in the coming weeks. Once this new funding has been fully allocated, the early learning collaboratives are expected to serve twice as many 4-year-olds.
“It's thrilling that we have approved additional collaboratives,” said Rachel Canter, director of Mississippi First, a nonprofit that helped write the law to create the collaboratives. “Hopefully we'll have even more communities approved by the end of the school year (to open in August), and I think MDE is on track to get there.”
This article first appeared on Mississippi Today and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
Mississippi News
On/off weekend rain
SUMMARY: The weather in Columbus, Mississippi is expected to have scattered showers and thunderstorms over the weekend. Temperatures will be in the low to middle 60s at night and low to middle 80s during the day. There is a chance of showers during the Starkville Derby weenie dog race, with cloudy conditions and breaks of sun. Temperatures will continue to rise into the upper 80s and potentially lower 90s next week with on and off rain. Overnight lows will remain mild in the low 60s to low 70s. Stay prepared for rain with rain gear as showers and storms are expected.
The post On/off weekend rain appeared first on www.wcbi.com
Mississippi News
Jackson pastor concerned about sinkhole near bridge
SUMMARY: The pastor of Cornerstone Missionary Baptist Church in Jackson is calling for the condemnation of a bridge on Martin Luther King Boulevard near his church due to safety concerns. The bridge has been a problem for nearly a decade, with a large sinkhole recently appearing. The pastor is advocating for the city to take action, as the bridge has already been the site of a fatal accident and lacks guardrails. While repairs are being made, the pastor believes the street should be shut down to prevent further accidents. The City of Jackson has not responded to inquiries about the issue.
The post Jackson pastor concerned about sinkhole near bridge appeared first on www.wjtv.com
Mississippi News
Shopping trips ends with shoplifting charges for Lee County women
SUMMARY: Two Lee County women, Marie Thomas and Brandy Allred, were arrested in Tupelo for a substantial shoplifting case where they took over $1,000 worth of merchandise. Thomas was charged with felony shoplifting and her bond was set at $5,000, while Allred was also identified as a suspect in two grand larceny cases and was charged with felony shoplifting and two counts of grand larceny, with a bond set at $50,000. The incident occurred in February at a business on South Green Street in Tupelo. Follow WCBI on Facebook for continuous news updates.
The post Shopping trips ends with shoplifting charges for Lee County women appeared first on www.wcbi.com
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