On Tuesday, February 6, 2024, the Mississippi Early Learning Alliance (MELA), along with the members from the Mississippi Forum for the Future (FFtF), will host the fifth annual Mississippi Early Childhood Capitol Day in Jackson, Miss.
This year’s event will focus on ways early childhood professionals are supporting young children, families and communities in Mississippi, networking with colleagues from around the state, advocate for young children and their families, and engaging with policymakers to increase awareness and advance public-policy priorities that address supporting and investing in early childhood education and welfare. The two policy recommendations for this year are:
- State investments to increase childcare teacher wages, and
- Investment and recommendations for early intervention.
The 2024 policy recommendations were created based on the results from the 2023 Mississippi Child Care Teachers’ Wages Survey. FFtF – partnered with the Systems Change Lab of the Social Sciences Research Center and the Graduate Center for the Study of Early Learning – created and distributed the survey last year gathering data surrounding childcare workers’ pay, working conditions, and the overall stability of the childcare industry. Additionally, our policy recommendations include the legislative recommendations from the Early Intervention Task Force’s report.
The Early Childhood Capitol Day is open to the public, childcare professionals, early childhood and family advocates, parents and business leaders are encouraged to attend. The tentative agenda is as follows:
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Welcome + Overview of the day
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Coffee & Conversations (panel discussion with legislators)
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Transition/Break
10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m. Photo (either on steps outside or in the rotunda)
10:45 a.m. – 11:15 p.m. Chamber Introductions
11:15 a.m. – 11:30 p.m. Transition/Break
11:30 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. Networking with ECE Professionals
12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Chamber Introductions (optional)
Walter Sillers Building
550 High Street, Jackson, MS 39201
Click here to access the one-pager that Legislators will receive.