It is officially fall. Kids are back in school and football season is in full swing. So what do young children and college football players in Michigan and around the country have in common?

Many of them are being redshirted --- the practice of postponing participation to give an individual extra time for growth and practice in the hope of improving future skills.

With the tiniest bit of dread, I started my ReImagine Early Years site visits last week, knowing that the long week of driving and meetings would keep me from other work and most likely leave me buried in email by week's end.  

As the COOR Great Start Collaborative can tell you, the counties they serve are plagued with some of the highest rates of child raising vulnerability in Michigan, with risk factors compounded by geographic isolation, limited access to higher education opportunities, and a complete lack of high quality early care and education settings in many communities.