WISE Start Project launches partnership to expand developmental screenings for young children
Mississippi University for Women’s WISE Start Project has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Mississippi Families for Kids and Help Me Grow Mississippi to launch a partnership that will expand developmental screenings for young children throughout Columbus and Lowndes County.
Coordinated by the Center for Education Support within the School of Education, the initiative brings together higher education, nonprofit organizations, child care providers and community volunteers to help ensure more children receive developmental screenings during their earliest years while equipping families and educators with the knowledge and resources to support healthy child development.
“Kindergarten readiness is not about rushing academics. It’s about building strong brains through conversation, movement, curiosity, relationships and play,” said Penny Mansell, director of the Center for Education Support. “This partnership helps families and educators recognize developmental milestones, understand what children need at each stage and intentionally create those opportunities. When additional support is needed, we can connect families to services earlier, when intervention has the greatest impact.”
Through the partnership, developmental screening services will be available across approximately 25 child care centers in Lowndes County. The project will emphasize teacher-supported screenings, parent engagement and coordinated follow-up services for children identified as needing additional evaluation or intervention.
According to Mansell, early childhood experts are calling for a renewed focus on child development, emphasizing play, movement, conversation and hands-on experiences that build the foundational skills children need before entering school.
Mansell said, “We’re not just measuring development. We’re helping create a community that celebrates and owns it. We want families and educators to know that development doesn’t happen only in a doctor’s office or a classroom. It happens while reading a bedtime story, talking in the grocery store, playing outside, practicing with scissors, building with blocks or asking a child what they think. When we intentionally create those kinds of experiences every day, we give every child the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
This summer, graduate students from The W’s speech-language pathology program are serving as part of a growing volunteer network conducting Ages & Stages Questionnaires (ASQ) developmental screenings in participating child care centers.
In the fall, the initiative will expand to include undergraduate students, local Excel By 5 volunteers and other trained community members, creating a sustainable, community-wide model for developmental screening and family engagement.
While the summer initiative serves as the pilot phase, WISE Start envisions expanding the model over time to reach more children, strengthen referral pathways, engage additional community volunteers and continue building a community in which every child has the opportunity to enter school healthy, supported and ready to learn.
“This partnership represents exactly what the WISE Start Project was created to do,” said Mackenzie Pearce, program manager for the WISE Start Project. “When organizations work together, we create better outcomes for children and families. By bringing together state organizations, The W, local Excel By 5, child care providers and community volunteers, we’re building a stronger early childhood system that identifies concerns earlier, connects families to resources faster and helps children thrive.”
About WISE Start
The WISE Start Project is housed within the Center for Education Support at Mississippi University for Women and works to strengthen early childhood systems through community partnerships, family engagement, workforce development and collaborative initiatives that improve outcomes for young children.