Hechinger Report | Q & A with Lynn Darling: The early childhood education gap in Mississippi

Hechinger Report | Q & A with Lynn Darling: The early childhood education gap in Mississippi:

Q & A with Lynn Darling: The early childhood education gap in Mississippi

by Jackie Mader

Lynn Darling

The Hechinger Report  is taking a look at why the children of Mississippi often rank near the bottom in academic achievement. With increasing attention given to the nation’s achievement gap, education reformers and the government have started looking at early childhood education as part of a potential solution.
Mississippi State University’s Early Childhood Institute was created in 1999 to provide research-based practices and policy recommendations to improve the state’s accessibility and quality of early child care and education. The Institute has been at the forefront of the movement to create better early-learning opportunities for young children.  The Hechinger Report spoke with Lynn Darling, director of the Early Childhood Institute.
Q: Why is early childhood education is so important, especially for communities in Mississippi?
A: You know, we have a lot of challenges. About one-third of students living in Mississippi live in poverty. We’re

Without high-quality preschool, Mississippi’s kids risk being left behind

by Liz Willen

Kindergarteners at Lyon Elementary School in Lyon, Miss. (Photo by Jackie Mader)

CANTON, Miss.—When school begins next month in Mississippi, Akeeleon Lewis will head to kindergarten for the second time. He started school last fall not knowing his colors or numbers.
“He couldn’t even hold a pencil,” says Judy Packer, his kindergarten teacher at McNeal Elementary School in Canton, a city of 13,000 about 30 miles northeast of the state capital in Jackson.
Before he arrived at McNeal, he hadn’t played much with children his age or ever set foot in a classroom. As a