Furthering Mississippi’s economic development gains starts not with a fresh crop of college graduates ready for the business world but a child who can read and comprehend by third grade, the Mississippi Economic Council's executive director said on Tuesday.
The MEC stopped in Jackson as part of a statewide "marathon tour" touting education’s and workforce training's roles in building the state’s job base.
Blake Wilson, the MEC's executive director, said the organization will lend its support to placing greater emphasis on pre-kindergarten and early childhood education programs so students can be ready for success from the time they walk into school.