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Prichard Committee convening Strong Start Coalition meeting in Erlanger on Thursday


The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence will be convening a Strong Start Coalition Meeting at the Erlanger City Building on Thursday at 11 a.m.

The Strong Start Coalition is a nonpartisan, citizen-led effort that unites Kentucky’s early childhood advocates through shared goals to strengthen early care and education for Kentucky children from birth through third grade.

Working with parents and policymakers in partnership with leaders from early childhood, business, education, religion, and health care, our efforts focus on giving Kentucky’s children a strong start in both public and community-based programs.

The Strong Start Coalition advocacy targets:

• Ensuring access to high-quality early learning environments in both public preschool and private childcare.

• Supporting Kentucky’s HANDS home-visiting program to ensure babies and toddlers a safe, nurturing home environment.

• Developing community partnerships to ensure families have greater access to full-day, high-quality early learning environments.

The Coalition meeting will include a tour of the Erlanger-Elsmere Early Learning Center, followed by a lunch and panel discussion.

Remarks from Brigitte Blom Ramsey, executive director of the Prichard Committee, and Kathy Burkhardt, superintendent of Erlanger-Elsmere Schools, will precede the panel discussion.

The panel will focus on early childhood community partnerships and the importance of collaboration to meet the needs of children in the community.

Panel participants include:

• Matt Engel and Donna Schulte, Erlanger-Elsmere Schools
• Shannon Starkey and Shaun Cutchin, Children Inc.
• Laurie Wolsing and Lauren Patterson, Head Start
• Danielle Corbin, Private Center Partners
• Leshia Lyman, United Way of Greater Cincinnati
• Joe Christofield, City of Erlanger
• Matt Dowling, City of Elsmere
• Melissa Schlake, St. Henry Preschool
• Lise Tewes, Kenton County Library
• Shelley Werner, Families in Transition Coordinator


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