Monroe County is making proress toward its goal of making early childhood education a priority, but there's plenty to do.

That was one of the message's Thursday at the annual Be Their Hero From Age Zero and Great Start Collaborative meeting. Monroe County Intermediate School District Supt. Don Spencer told a room full of early childhood advocates that they need to push Lansing to do more.

"We have to convince the Legislature that any cut to funding for early childhood education is the wrong thing to do," Mr. Spencer said.

Mr. Spencer said the state has historically struggled with financing early childhood development but that is a mistake. Kids learn about emotional and social connections by 700 days of life and math and logic at 1,500 days. They start kindergarten around day 1,700. then, he said, its often too late for a child.

"We have to find some ways of getting to our children before that," he said.

Thursday's gathering was a combination of recognition dinner and teaching program. Several area businesses and individuals were given awards for their support of the Be Their Hero task force, which started in 2002 when a group of people decided to join forces to spread the word about early children education.

Monroe County music therapists Angela Snell, Katie Bourbina and Laurel Rosen-Weatherford led parents and community leaders in music lessons, while teaching the importance music plays in the interaction between children and their parents.

Music, they said, stimulates the mind, improves mood and brings people together. Studies also have shown that active music making correlates with increased reasoning and better math skills, better reading ability and lower incidence of drug use. In short, they said, it keeps people healthier.

But the theme of the night was early childhood education. Judy Samuelson, the director of the state's Early Childhood Investment Corp., spoke briefly about statewide efforts to bring awareness and said Monroe County has a great start because the community seems so committed to the cause.

Mr. Spencer said, "We wanted to create a climate where early childhood services would become the priority."

The data, he said, clearly shows if schools want to improve test scores and graduation rates and if communities want to keep people out of jail, early education is the key.

Full article available at Monroe News.