RECN pushes for La. Legislature support in early childhood education

RAPIDES PARISH, La. (KALB) – Rapides Parish has promised good news for state lawmakers in the near future.

At a state education committee hearing on December 12, 2024, the Rapides Early Childhood Network (RECN) testified about their success in early childhood development in Rapides Parish. This is part of a broader push for state lawmakers to support early childhood education and its development in the Pelican State.

“From zero to three, it’s like me trying to build a house,” said Patrick Moore, chairman of the Rotary Club of Alexandria, who is one of the many faces in RECN. “If I don’t have that inspiration and the serve and return in this little brain before three years old…90% by four…then I’m building a house that’s maybe got the framework but no roof and very little foundation. So when we get to the 15-year-old, 16, 17…..you’ve got a house you’re trying to put furniture in, more education, but you’ve got no roof and no walls. It just doesn’t make any sense whatsoever.”

Earlier this year, the state department of education rated RECN with the fifth highest score in the state. In Rapides Parish, Moore, alongside organizations like the rotary club and the Rapides Foundation, team up with RECN to match dollar-for-dollar investments in high-quality early care and education.

“From the business community, if we don’t attack this as a state, we’re committing suicide. That’s all there is to it,” Moore said.

The effort supports the Louisiana Early Childhood Education Fund in order to provide opportunities for families in need.

“We put a scholarship plan and an investment plan together and went to folks, to businesses, and said, ‘here’s the layout of it, and we’re giving you an opportunity to invest’, and you know what? Not one, -not one- told us no. Not one, and that’s how we did this,” Moore said. “This is a business plan, and it’s meaningful to everybody in our community.”

Last week, KALB spoke with Rapides Parish Public School Superintendent Jeff Powell on how Rapides is leading the way in early childhood.

“We were number five in the state in terms of early child care networks,” Powell said. “And the four ahead of us? If you combine the number of child care centers they have, they don’t have half the number…that we do here…So again, I think it’s just another shining example of when we talk about being better together here in Rapides Parish, that is one of the just very perfect examples of what happens when we work together.”

So, how does Louisiana help to support early childhood education further?

One state lawmaker said the legislature needs to make sure that when lawmakers lay out the budget next year, there is money put towards the local effort in early childhood.

“This is the model of what we need throughout our state,” said State Rep. Barbara Freiberg (R-District 70), who is a member of the education committee. “We need more of this. And we’re seeing some of it, but we need more of it. We have a pot of money that says we will match local effort. And that’s what we need to make sure that that pot of money stays where it needs to be so that efforts like this can be matched.”

KALB reached out to Cenla State Rep. Chuck Owen (R-District 30), who is also on the education committee, for comments on early childhood, though we have not yet received a response.

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