Independence County
Excel by Eight in Independence County
Independence County is one of the inaugural community partners for Excel by Eight. Led by the Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce, E8 joins other education-related initiatives in the area and incorporates goals that are inclusive of ages birth to eight as a foundation for improving outcomes for the whole child.
The steering committee in Independence County formed four subcommittees based on priorities determined by the Data Walk events, a community input process:
- Child care quality and availability
- Oral language and literacy
- Early childhood development (including physical and social-emotional development)
- Oral health
During fall 2022, all four school districts’ public preschool centers will participate in LENA Grow, a 10-week program intended to measure and improve adult-child interactions in early care. Read more about the program here.
Additionally, Independence County received funds from Delta Dental to launch the Healthy Smiles project. Its aim is to increase the number of young children going to the dentist early. All four school districts and STARS Academy are participating, reaching over 1,000 children under age 5.
A second round of Early Development Instrument (EDI) results has been released. The EDI is a population measure of how young children are developing based on the five domains of early childhood development: physical health and wellbeing; social competence; emotional maturity; language and cognitive skills; and communication skills and general knowledge. Kindergarten teachers in each school district completed the assessment for their students in spring 2022.
Snapshot
North-central region of Arkansas, adjacent to the White River
Specialties in agriculture, healthcare, banking and retail
Lyon College
Implemented first community school model in the state
Steering Committee
Chair
Jamie Rayford, Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
Committee Members
Jennifer Douglas, Batesville School District
Amy Finster, White River Health System
Jessica Gilmer, Midland Preschool
Mary-Katherine Hardin, STARS Academy
Novella Humphrey, Southside School District
Kristie Jenkins, ARCare
Crystal Johnson, Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
Abbi Limbaugh, Cedar Ridge School District
Whitney Massey, Baker Family Dentistry
Lisa Mcghee, Southside Schools
Bani Meharg, Midland Elementary
Dr. Lesley Milton, Tooth Be Told Pediatric Dentistry
Debbie Mize, Child Care Aware
Brandi Nelson, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences North Central
Kimberly Poole, Southside School District
Dr. Julia Roulier, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Mindy Shaw, Batesville Preschool
Brooke Stevenson, Parent
Dr. Nikki Yonts, Lyon College
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