Last month, the city of Poplarville became the 20th community in Mississippi to become Excel By 5 certified.
For the past 10 years, the Mississippi exclusive initiative has been working to provide children a solid foundation before entering kindergarten, Excel By 5 Executive Director Bob Clay said. From birth to age five, 90 percent of a child’s brain development occurs, Clay said.
“The process normally takes communities about two years to complete, but Poplarville became certified in one,” Clay said. “It’s been a good effort between the Pearl River Community College, the mayor, the aldermen and members of the community.”
The certification process begins with a coalition of volunteers who focus on the four areas of requirements, Clay said.
The first is community involvement, where group members evaluate where parents can find resources. The second area involved distributing newborn packets to parents and families, Clay said.
The third requirement requires the community to provide information to parents about early childhood issues. They also set up educational partnership meetings with Head Start, childcare providers and schools. During that meeting, specific training hours and credentials for teachers is discussed, Clay said.
The final requirement is identifying health issues for children up to age five, Clay said.
The community must also host a town hall meeting, a community event for children in the respective age range, an annual school reading event and an annual health fair, Clay said.
Poplarville’s Excel By 5 certification will be good for the next three years, he said.
“Poplarville is making their community and parents aware of early childhood issues,” Clay said. “The benefits of certification include promoting a collaboration of community members and identifies resources for parents of children less than five years. There are also benefits for economic development, when there is a good educated workforce.”
Carolyn Tedford, certification manager for the Poplarville team, said there was a need in Poplarville for support and resources for families with children.
“We wanted to bring these resources to our community,” Tedford said. “It was wonderful and uplifting to learn our community had been certified. The community, as a whole, was willing to support us and show that they care enough about our families to attain this certification. It took all of us coming together to do this.”
In the near future, the coalition plans to open a resource center on the Pearl River Community College campus, Tedford said. The funding for the new center was provided by a grant from the Lower Pearl River Valley Foundation.
The center will provide resources including books, educational games and videos, parent workshops and training for Head Start employees and childcare providers, Tedford said.
The group will also partner with Mississippi State University’s Extension Service for resources.
To date, many events have been held in the community including a children’s heath fair through a partnership with the Pearl River County Hospital, Easter egg hunt, Christmas activities and more, Tedford said.
A public Excel By 5 celebration will be held at a later date, Tedford said. For more information about early childcare resources, contact Tedford at carolyntedford@gmail.com.