Governor to Kick off School Readiness Summit - Emphasizes Education is for Life
Governor to Kick off School Readiness Summit - Emphasizes Education is for Life
Governor Brian Schweitzer today announced that he will be hosting the Montana Governor's School Readiness Summit beginning June 14 at 7:00 pm in Helena and continuing through Friday. The evening reception and welcoming, which will be held at the Myrna Loy, begins a two day strategic planning session for 14 community teams and a state government team.
The Summit is a kick off event for a statewide school readiness initiative. Through different grant opportunities and directives from the federal government, many state agencies have received suggestions on how best to support young children and families so that child development is maximized, professionals work more effectively together and families are better served.
"I want to thank all the people involved with this very important summit," said Governor Brian Schweitzer. "Past generations and generations to come - parents dream for the best for their kids. I believe that education matters and that our very youngest Montanans deserve our attention now to secure a bright future for tomorrow."
Governor Schweitzer has recently endorsed full time kindergarten to help all kids become successful students, especially at-risk children. "Education is for life," Schweitzer said. "Kindergarten opens the door for all children to get ready for college and know they can succeed."
Montana was one of seven states to receive a National Governor's Association grant to host this summit. Summit partners also include the Head Start/State Collaboration Office and the Department of Public Health and Human Services Early Childhood Services Bureau and Early Childhood Comprehensive Systems Core Team.
If you are interested and want to have input into the work of your community team, you can contact Mary Jane Standaert at mjstandaert@mt.gov or 444-0589 and request the name of your community team leader.
BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT
Here is the Governor's School Readiness Summit Agenda:
http://governor.mt.gov/news/pr.asp?ID=352