Early childhood education programs in Rapides now open for registration
What children experience in their first five years sets the stage for the rest of their lives, and the Rapides Early Childhood Network wants to make sure they succeed.
Registration is available online now for programs included in the network — Early Head Start, Head Start, prekindergarten and kindergarten. The network is unique because it encompasses public schools, childcare centers and both Early Head Start and Head Start, said Cindy Rushing, the school district's early childhood director.
"All children in Rapides Parish, regardless of their age, from the very youngest, deserve access to high-quality, early childhood education," said Rushing during a Wednesday press conference. "We want that to be as rigorous, as positive as it can be because it's the first education for children."
Early childhood education prepares children for kindergarten and beyond, she said. It's the time in which all experiences, good and bad, affect the brain. Rushing said research shows the first 2,000 days of a child's life, roughly five years, "sets the foundation for language development, social and emotional growth.
"We need to be giving them those best experiences, from birth to 4, so that they're ready to learn on the first day of kindergarten."
Rushing said statistics show just 42% of children enter kindergarten at that level now, which she said shows much more work must be done.
She said Rapides Parish's performance profile for 2021-22 showed growth and took the district from a "proficient" to "high proficient" rating, moving just below the "excellent" rating.
"Are we satisfied? No," she said.
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Rushing said the district almost has met its 2025 growth target set in its Road to 90 plan. She believes they will pass that goal.
"That's a testament to the work that our early childhood teachers are doing. They are learning what to do," she said.
She said the network has improved greatly since it was formed as part of a state pilot in 2013 and from when performance scores first were released in 2017.
February also was declared Month of the Young Child in Rapides Parish through a proclamation from Gov. John Bel Edwards.
People can register at rapidesearlychildhoodnetwork.com or at the district's website, rpsb.us. For information, call 318-442-8891.
This article originally appeared on Alexandria Town Talk: Register now for early childhood education programs in Rapides
