Excerpt: Jawun Nelson doesn't credit two years in Head Start for all his success today. But he knows it was a factor. "It provided me with a comfort level that made my transition to kindergarten and elementary school relatively east," said Nelson, 37, who is assistant chief financial officer with the Flint Community Schools.

 

Excerpt: When Melissa Atkinson of Petersburg walks through a department store, she can't help but worry if someone is going to try to snatch one of her four young children. "It's always on my mind," she said. And Chrissanne Kinel of Monrow probably will legally carry her 9mm once she gets a holster. In the meantime, she rearranged her daughter's bed in their house to make sure it's not in the line of fire in case she has to fire off a few rounds at an intruder.

 

Excerpt: Kindergarten is a monumentally important year in regard to the child's attitude about school and learning. As to all-day kindergarten, it's not so much the amount of time the child spends at school; it's about the quality of that time.

 

Excerpt: In a classroom on the ground floor of Adrian's St. Joseph Academy, a dozen or so parents - mostly moms, but a couple of dads as well - and their young children sit at tables with a colorful array of vegetables, cheese and tortillas on plates in front of them. "How many of us love to eat?" asks Awilda Dominguez, from the MSU Extension's Family Nutrition Program. Almost everyone raises their hands.

 

Excerpt: State education officials, lawmakers, school superintendents, principals and teachers all look for ways to improve K-12 performance. Joe Larkin believes preschool education should be made permanent and that students should be required to finish the 12th grade.

 

Excerpt: It's no secret that Michigan's education statistics are lagging many other states'. But instead of asking "What can we do?" Michigan needs to focus on "What must we do?" Shirley Robinson Pippins, senior vice president for the American Council on Education, told attendees at the West Michigan Policy Forum Thursday afternoon.

 

Excerpt: Business/Education Collaboration was at the heart of a half-day event Tuesday at the St. Joseph County Intermediate School District (SJCISD) headquarters near Centreville.

 

 

 

 

Excerpt: Adults and children alike scooped shovels of dirt at Kirtland Community College last week at a site where the Warbler's Nest Children's Learning Center will be located.

 

Excerpt: With local families reeling from unemployment and wage cutes, spending more than $100 a month on diapers is becoming a luxury many cannot afford.

 

 

Excerpt:  With less than a month to go, thousands of home day care providers across Michigan have yet to meet state-ordered training requirements.

 

Excerpt:  Growing up, the start of the new school year was always an exciting time. There were new classrooms and new teachers, even some new friends. School was a stimulating opportunity to learn and to have fun.

 

Excerpt:  Cassi Rivera peeked out the window in her family's front door, expecting a visitor. When she saw Heather Husiak walking up the driveway toward her home, the 4-year-old opened the door and stepped outside on the porch to hug Husiak.

 

Excerpt:  It's not a great time to be a kid in Michigan. The annual national Kids Count report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation bears grim testament to that fact. Michigan fell to 30th among the 50 states in child well-being, our lowest ranking in more than a decade. Last year, we were 27th.

 

Excerpt:  Huron Valley Recreation announces its plan to offer care for infants starting at 6 weeks old, beginning Aug. 23. In addition, child care continues to be offered year round for toddlers and 3- and 4-yearold students.

 

Excerpt:  No one seems to know what to do about public education in Detroit. The question is a simple one: "What does it take to successfully educate the children of Detroit?"

 

Excerpt:  Though it may not shock working parents, others may be surprised to hear findings from a report issued Monday show child care costs continue to rise despite the economic downtown, and day care expenses for many families exceed food costs and other household expenses.

 

Excerpt:  When people talk about the recession and the tough job market, it's usually the plight of unemployed adults that springs to mind.

 

Excerpt:  Michigan’s shaky economic status led to a lower nationwide ranking in the 2010 Kids Count report, which provides an overall rank based on 10 measures of child well-being and recently was released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

 

Excerpt:  Eight-year-old Ella Lubberts put her finger out to give a tentative touch to a 12-inch garter snake, then quickly withdrew her hand. “I thought it would be slimy, but it wasn’t. I liked touching the turtle better,” said Ella, one of about 40 children attending an Outdoor Discovery Center Wetland Critters program at the Holland State Park last week.

 

Excerpt:  We live in a world of scarce governmental resources, and they seem to be getter scarcer. This means it’s more important than ever to pick our public investments wisely. A new paper by Flavio Cunha, an economist at the University of Pennsylvania, and James Heckman, a Nobel Laureate at the University of Chicago, documents the wisdom of one particular kind of investment: Preschool.

 

Excerpt:  The latest snapshot of child well being has been released and Michigan has fallen in its ranking.

 

Excerpt:  An anti-crime organization made up of law enforcement, prosecutors and survivors of violence has issued a series of reports for different states on the importance of quality early childhood programs. To make its point, the group, Fight Crime: Invest in Kids, chronicles some of the most prominent studies.

 

Excerpt:  A local elementary school is attempting to prepare children for Kindergarten with the help of a free coloring book.

 

Excerpt: There is a scholarship program for early childhood professionals called T.E.A.C.H. (Teacher Education and Compensation Helps). This program is one of the initiatives supported by the Early Childhood Investment Corporation, or ECIC. The Michigan Association for the Education of Young Children (MiAEYC) just became the new license holder for the T.E.A.C.H. program. Previously the program had been administered by the Michigan 4C Association.

 

Excerpt:  The 1,200-student rural district has launched an online academy, been approved as an early middle college, taken a stand for universal preschool, and is converting to a technology-heavy, project-based learning approach in its high school.

 

Excerpt: A scholarship program that helps child care providers across the state is changing hands. The Teacher Education and Compensation Helps program, or TEACH, awards scholarships to child care providers pursuing higher education.

 

Excerpt:  For most of my life I have avoided “professional politics” choosing to work quietly and locally as an active participant in the democratic process. Aside from local ballot issues, school board elections and appointed positions I have simply paid attention to issues which concern me, taxation, health and safety, education, business and local government.

 

Excerpt:  Residents packed the conference room to capacity at Silver Maples of Chelsea on July 6 for the first “Evening of Civil Discourse” political roundtable discussion. U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer, D-Dist. 7, state Rep. Pam Byrnes, D-Dist. 52, County Commissioner Mark Ouimet and Chelsea Mayor Jason Lindauer were invited by event organizer Will Johnson for the nearly two-hour event.

 

Excerpt:  After months of reports, discussions and a deadlocked vote July 1, the Lansing school board meets again tonight to try to decide how the district will help students who don't succeed at Sexton, Everett or Eastern high schools. 

 

Excerpt:  House Speaker Andy Dillon, Democratic gubernatorial candidate, today brought his "Renewing the Michigan Dream" tour to Creston High School.