In Mississippi, just 3 percent of children age 3 and under receive early intervention services that are designed to support children with learning challenges or developmental disabilities. Meanwhile, only 8 percent of Mississippi four-year-olds have access to pre-K education, a percentage far lower than that found in our neighboring states.

Fortunately, there are programs and resources that can help parents overcome the lack of state-wide pre-K education. To achieve that end, a community-based organization called Excel By 5, helps pull together those resources for parents and daycare providers. There are Excel by 5 programs throughout the country, but few that serve so critical a role as Mississippi’s Excel By 5 organization. In a state that has historically underfunded public education, it stands as a critical early childhood education resource. Currently, Mississippi’s Excel By 5 works with 38 communities, including Lowdnes, Oktibbeha and Clay counties.

These local organizations serve children in a wide variety of ways, from providing information for new parents to helping daycare facilities access educational and health resources and programs so that the child’s day can be a step in their education.

We are not too far removed from an era when a child’s formal education began at age 6, in first grade. Compulsory kindergarten attendance was not a requirement in Mississippi until 1982, and how long it will be until the state provides state-wide Pre-K is anyone’s guess. It’s likely to be later than sooner, which makes the efforts of our local Excel By 5 organization even more important.

Research has proven that children begin to learn at birth. By age 3 or 4, most children are ready to be introduced to the building blocks of education — shapes, numbers, colors, language, social skills, etc. The earlier a child becomes familiar with basic educational concepts, the better they tend to do as they enter school. This is particularly true for children whose home environments may provide little opportunity for early learning and development. A child in these circumstances is even further behind entering formal schooling.

Developmental and learning disabilities can also manifest themselves long before a child reaches school-age, so access to assessments and programs that address those challenges can make a huge difference for the child. Excel By 5 helps make these resources available to daycare center workers. The sooner the diagnosis, the sooner the child can be provided with the assistance he or she needs.

Although our local Excel By 5 committees are blessed to have members with professional experience in education and childhood development, they are very much grassroots organizations that rely heavily on community participation. Anyone with an interest in moving the needle for our preschool age children can participate.

The more invested our community is in helping Excel By 5 reach parents and daycare providers, the stronger the program will become. The goal is that every parent and every daycare know what kinds of resources and programs are available to them.

That can make a huge difference in a child’s future.

The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.