Office of Early Childhood’s 10th Anniversary

MDE’s Office of Early Childhood celebrated its 10-year anniversary earlier this year! The Early Childhood Office helps build the state’s childhood education infrastructure by providing training, resources and coaching support. Mississippi’s Early Learning Collaborative Act helped launch the office with one staff member, Dr. Jill Dent, who has led the office since its inception. Now, the Early Childhood Office is one of MDE’s largest offices with 72 staff members and 46 contractors.

Dr. Dent and her team have gone from managing $3 million in state funds annually for 11 Early Learning Collaboratives to more than $47 million in state funds for 40 Collaboratives, 24 State-Invested Pre-K programs and 21 blended pre-K classrooms. This translates to serving 1,400 pre-K students in the first year to more than 8,300 students this year.

As a result of their hard work, leadership and service, the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has consistently recognized Mississippi as one of only five states that meets all 10 of NIEER’s quality standards for pre-K.