Parishes unite to explore how to grow early childhood education
The three parishes in the 18th Judicial District Court took steps last week toward a joint effort that would expand educational opportunities for their youngest learners.
Representatives of the three parish school systems met at the Poydras Center on ways to achieve more influence on the state level.
The meeting brought together Iberville Parish President Chris Daigle, West Baton Rouge Parish President Jason Manola and Pointe Coupee Parish President Major Thibaut, along with early childhood education officials from all three school systems.
The effort is part of an 18th Judicial District Court initiative to expand access to quality childcare in rural regions.
Education for early learners could enable more parents to find their way into the workforce, according to Pheriche Perkins, Executive Director of the Pointe Coupee Parish Early Childhood Coalition.
Perkins brought officials from the three parishes together because of the close proximity and similar demographic in terms of socioeconomic data that shows a chunk of school-age in all three parishes who come from families who live below the poverty level.
“Seventy-five percent of the working parents have reported having to take at least one day from work in the prior three months because of a childcare disruption,” Perkins said. “Without reliable childcare, parents miss work, leave or change jobs, come in early or leave early.”
The breakdowns cost the Louisiana economy $1.3 billion annually, according to the Louisiana Department of Labor.
Benefits of early childhood education
Early childhood education also improves academic stability for children through their school years.
A study by the Coalition for a Better Louisiana shows that on-time graduation is 4.3 percent greater and qualification for TOPS Tech is 9.3 percent higher among students in continuous early education.
In addition, chances of qualifying for TOPS Opportunity are 10.7 percent.
The same study shows those students perform 12.1 percent better in algebra and 7.8 percent higher in English 2.
They also fare 8.4 percent better in geometry and 9.3 higher in biology, while special education placements are 45 percent lower.
Those results lead to much stronger graduation opportunity, higher income as adults, better health outcomes, and lesser chance they will participate in a criminal act.
It’s also one of the few areas that draw unity among political parties.
The study shows that most voters across all parties and regions of the stater support dedicating an additional $115 million per year for the next 10 years to expand early care and education programs for working families.
The local components include the Pointe Coupee Early Childhood Coalition headed by Perkins, Iberville Early Childhood, supervised by Lydia Canova and West Baton Rouge Early Learning led by Crystal Leon.
Parish statistics
Iberville: With a population of 30,241, Iberville Parish has 26 percent of its children living in poverty and 41 percent of its families living below the ALICE threshold. It ranks 14thin the state for infant and toddler access to care.
West Baton Rouge: With a population just over 27,000, 751 meet the definition of “economically disadvantaged” according to data from the Louisiana Department of Education.
Twenty-one percent live in poverty and 39 percent live below the ALICE threshold.
Pointe Coupee: With a population of 20,758, Pointe Coupee has 27 percent of its children living in poverty.
The figure shows 55 percent of the Pointe Coupee population lives beneath the ALICE (Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed) Threshold — the minimum income a household needs to afford basic living expenses in a specific area.
Childcare costs represent 33 percent of the median income in the region.
However, the parish ranks second in the state for infant and toddler access to care — 27 percent of at-risk children served, compared with 11 percent statewide.
It offers universal pre-K with 100 percent coverage of 3- and 4-year-olds. A total of 324 children were served with public funds in October 2024, including 109 infants and toddlers in childcare settings.
The population totals 78,198 for the three parishes, including 3,804 children under age 5, according to the 2020 U.S. Census Data, with 2,419 of those children (64 percent) meeting the definition of “economically disadvantaged” by the Louisiana Department of Education.
The missing puzzle piece
Lydia Canova, Early Childhood Supervisor for the Iberville Parish School System says she is hopeful that the trip-parish coalition could lead to acquisition of matching funds for the early childhood programs in all three school systems.
Putting the three parishes together is a step in the right direction, she said.
“The Ready Start Network came about in early 2020 to increase awareness of early childhood education and its importance, as well as to increase the quality of the care the children receive and to maximize and to increase the number of children we put into those centers,” Canova said.
The other goal is to increase the quality of the care those children receive in the centers
“In the past, we’ve been able to increase the quality and raise awareness, but we continue to fall short is where the funding come in,” Canova said. “We’ve got the two other pieces of the puzzle in place, but the funding is just the last missing piece.”
Schools continue to fall short is where the funding come in. Iberville has awareness and curriculum in place.
“It’s the piece we need, and while it looks like we’re making progress there, it’s the hardest piece of the puzzle,” she said.
Opportunities
Students enrolled in educational readiness program have a better opportunity to rise above those statistics, Perkins said.
“They go on to have really successful adulthoods, they’re less likely to be involved in drugs or elicit substances and they’re less likely to be involved in crime,” she said. “They not only do OK — they do really well.”
So why should the three parishes come together?
It comes down to poverty, even in in areas such as Iberville and West Baton Rouge, which have more well-paying jobs.
Despite all states paying into the ECC fund, very few communities have access to it, Perkins said.
“Other communities are closing the gap,” Perkins said. “We want to close the gap and unlock generational prosperity.”
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