[C-L]Barbour speaks at Mississsippi Early Childhood Education meeting
Last Thursday Gov. Haley Barbour, who cited that early education is the key to economic growth in Mississippi, was the keynote speaker at the Mississippi Early Childhood Education Meeting in downtown Jackson. Barbour additionally urged the state to continue to support “commonsensical programs” like the Quality Step System. Anthony Topazi, the president and CEO of Mississippi Power who also spoke at the meeting, pledged that his company will commit $450,000 to early education over the next three years.
The money will go to the Mississippi State University Early Childhood Institute, aiming to help childcare centers in the 23 counties served by Mississippi Power adhere to the Mississippi Child Care Quality Step System, a new voluntary program that offers financial incentives to meet educational goals.
Topazi said the funds will help Mississippi students “compete in a tough global economy,” adding after the meeting that early education deficiencies are the “root cause problem” behind the state’s lack of skilled laborers.
“Early education won’t fix our workforce issues tomorrow,” Topazi said, “but if we don’t fix it now, we won’t have a solution for workforce issues in the next 20 years.”
Posted by kate at 11:19 AM in Legislature, Education, Governor | Email this entry
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