Petal, the state’s first Excel By 5 community, will host its annual Excelebration from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Saturday, March 30, at Hinton Park, behind the Petal Library.
The Friendly City received its Excel By 5 recertification earlier this year and wants to celebrate with the children, who the program is all about. Excel By 5’s mission is engaging the community in the development of its youngest residents, ages 0-5. Excel by 5 identifies and develops community resources through collaborative partnerships to ensure school readiness and success.
The theme for this year is Kids Under Construction. Pre-school children are invited to wear their play clothes for this day of building, loading, hauling, dumping and exploring.
“Children will be hammering, handling giant blocks and painting houses,” said Nadine Coleman, coalition member. “Two big piles of dirt and sand have already been delivered to the park.”
Childcare centers in Petal have partnered to make the day special. “We have real good partnerships with these centers and we try to help them with all kinds of things,” Coleman said.
In 2007, Petal became Mississippi’s first certified Excel By 5 community. To become an “Early Childhood Community,” the community of Petal must address issues related to early childhood development across four key sectors: Community Involvement, Family and Parent Support, Early Care and Education, and Health. Focus group discussions from each sector brought to light specific needs both short and long term, as part of EB5’s strategic plan.
“Quality infant and toddler care openings and identifying and engaging our community’s underserved children in pre-k programs are ongoing challenges our community must continue to address,” Coleman said. “We’ve made a lot of progress, but there’s more work to be done.”
Currently there are 32 communities across the state of Mississippi that have been certified as “Early Childhood Communities” with Petal leading the charge, serving as a model for other communities through innovative programs and partnerships.
Hattiesburg became an Excel By Five community in 2014.
