Early Childhood Education Plan for Monadnock Region
Two of the state’s most rural regions are rallying community leaders to band together and invest in children five years old and younger to strengthen their economy and communities.
The North Country was the first to step up and take a community approach to early childhood education with nearly $10 million invested by the Tillotson Fund of the NH Charitable Foundation since 2009. It is focused on two areas determined to help transform the region’s flagging economy: early childhood development (ages 0 to 6) and Entrepreneurship and Business Development in Coos County.
The Monadnock Region is taking a similar community approach following a needs assessment that identified three areas with the greatest opportunities to improve overall well-being: economic opportunity (the region is losing high-paying jobs and has relatively low wages), education and child welfare (births to teen mothers are relatively high).
Impact Monadnock was formed in 2013 to initiate a collective approach to tackling issues and to act as a facilitator, bringing together various community partners, including education, social services and businesses. That focus was chosen “because early experiences literally shape the developing architecture of the brain, providing a sturdy or fragile foundation for all of the development that follows, a strong early foundation is essential to healthy and competent adulthood, responsible citizenship, economic productivity, strong communities, and a sustainable society…” states Impact Monadnock in its report, “An Investment in Community Well-Being: Preparing Monadnock Area Children for the Future.”
Marjorie Droppa, project director of the Early Childhood Development Initiative for Impact Monadnock LLC, says the next phase in the project will include building community support and momentum, establishing infrastructure and measuring results.
Droppa has been making presentations throughout the region, and Impact Monadnock will be holding a business forum at Keene State College on early childhood education on Oct. 14 with keynote speakers Lisa Ventriss, president of Vermont Business Roundtable, and Matt Mowry, editor of Business NH Magazine.
Impact Monadnock is hiring a consultant to assist with strategic planning, which will be led by a steering committee representative of the community. That committee includes business leaders, who Droppa sees as vital to the success of this initiative.
For more information, visit impactmonadnock.org.