Federal grant enables MSU-led study of early childhood data
Contact: Carol Gifford
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥擜 recent $6.5 million federal grant is supporting a Mississippi State-led examination of best practices in early-childhood educational services.
Funding for the award comes from the U.S. Department of Education鈥檚 Institute of Education Sciences to the Mississippi Department of Education and the university鈥檚 National Strategic Planning and Analysis Research Center.
The project involves the collection and application of statewide early childhood data to conduct research aimed at improving early-childhood outcomes. Both the delivery and effectiveness of services for preschool children will be examined, along with how early learning impacts long-term outcomes as children enter the K-12 system.
鈥淢ississippi is committed to engaging in scientific research as an important vehicle to improve the quality of early childhood outcomes,鈥 said Domenico 鈥淢immo鈥 Parisi, NSPARC executive director.
鈥淭his project will allow us to determine the effectiveness of specific services to preschoolers,鈥 he said, adding that state policymakers 鈥渨ill be able to use our research to strategically allocate resources that lead to better outcomes for our children.鈥
Parisi said Mississippi was among 16 states chosen to receive the grant from a national pool of 43 applicants. Specifically, it should allow Mississippi to enhance its capacity for providing data for research and evaluation that builds on earlier efforts establishing a secure data system necessary to study educational programming.
John Q. Porter, chief information officer in MDE鈥檚 Office of Technology and Strategic Services, said the federal award 鈥渨ill enable a level of collaboration never before achieved in Mississippi.
鈥淲e will use the grant to hire professionals to develop dashboard analytics and provide professional development to nurture a culture of data literacy and sharing from the pre-kindergarten classroom to college, university and workforce provider,鈥 Porter said.
Parisi observed that NSPARC鈥檚 collaboration with MDE and other state agencies illustrates how the university鈥檚 academic and technical expertise continues to provide innovative solutions for complex education issues.
鈥淐hildren and families will ultimately benefit from this collaboration,鈥 Parisi emphasized. 鈥淔amilies will be able to make more informed choices about the services they want and the outcomes they expect.鈥
For more about NSPARC, visit . Parisi may be reached at 662-325-9242.
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