Starkville Oktibbeha Early Learning Collaborative celebrates 10 years of providing PreK
"When families succeed, communities succeed too."
That's how Mary Coleman, Program Manager for the Starkville Oktibbeha Early Learning Collaborative sums up the work of the program as it nears a decade in service to Oktibbeha County children and families.
The Starkville Oktibbeha Early Learning Collaborative will celebrate its 10-year anniversary this fall, marking a decade of providing quality pre-kindergarten to Oktibbeha County children, and preparing them to enter kindergarten ready to learn. SOELC is one of 40 similar collaboratives across the state that were formed through Legislative action in 2013 and are funded by the Mississippi Department of Education.
SOELC provides PreK at four sites across Oktibbeha County, serving children at Emerson Preschool, Sudduth Elementary, West Elementary and ICS Headstart. The program is housed at the Starkville Oktibbeha Consolidated School District's Discovery Center, a hub of the Yellow Jacket grant-based services. As the program has grown over the last ten years, helping children succeed has become the over-arching goal.
"Success for our families and our children starts long before they enter kindergarten," Coleman says. "At SOELC, we hope we are giving the kids we serve a strong start and providing families with the resources and support they need to help their children thrive."
"Thrive" is a word that comes up a lot when teachers, staff members and parents talk about the work of the Collaborative, which started in 2016.
"My kids know how to thrive in a group setting," says Amberly Dennis, mother of two children who attended PreK through the Early Learning Collaborative in 2019 and 2023. She attributes much of their success in elementary and middle school today to the good foundation they had in early childhood education at Emerson Preschool.
"PreK helped foster independence which is crucial for success in elementary school," she says. "It also helped them develop fine motor skills and taught them how to thrive in a group setting. Both of which helped with a smooth transition into kindergarten."
Riesa Blackwell, whose two daughters attended PreK at Sudduth Elementary and Emerson Preschool says the program made the same difference for her girls, especially coming from being at home or in a much smaller in-home daycare.
"The biggest difference I noticed in both of my children during Prek was a maturity shift," she remembers. "They were learning and thriving on the academic side, but they were also learning to handle their emotions better, learning conflict resolution, becoming more empathetic, and learning to be a better friend to their peers."
Elizabeth Grimes, who serves as an Educational Specialist with the SOELC says these stories are not unusual, and they speak to the hopes that most of the program's leaders and teachers have for how it can impact families.
"My hope is that our families and our dedicated teachers we have in PreK will create the perfect environment for our young minds to grow," she says. "Together, the families and teachers lay the foundation for lifelong learning and success."
When we talk about success, it's hard to argue with the numbers shared by the Collaborative. In 2016, the program started with seven classrooms across the county and only 140 seats. Through the growth of the program and investments from the community through donations and participation in a state tax credit offered by Mississippi, SOELC has expanded to provide 15 classrooms and serve 300 students each year.
The program applies quality standards from the National Institute for Early Education Research to provide children across all sites with a similar experience of growth. Teachers and Teacher Assistants carry required certifications for early childhood education, and classrooms use MDE-approved curriculum. These standards ensure that children receive the best preparation to learn as they move to kindergarten.
Dr. Brandi Burton, who leads the Discovery Center as the district's Director of Educational Enhancement and Innovative Research, estimates that the Collaborative has served more than 1900 children during it's work over the last decade.
"The Early Learning Collaborative has had a tremendous impact on our district over the past 10 years," she says. "It has allowed us to double the number of PreK classrooms and students we serve, support parents in furthering their education through tax credit donations, provide high-quality professional development for teachers, and equip our classrooms with outstanding learning resources."
Many of the SOELC services she mentions expand the Collaborative's impact well beyond the classroom and into the homes of students with resources and the opportunity to help parents provide better environments for their children every day.
Blackwell and Dennis both shared as parents about the ways the program helped their children grow in social skills and the ability to form and nurture relationships – skills which may be some of the biggest impacts for students as they grow through school toward becoming good citizens of a shared community.
"I realized that PreK was making a significant difference in my children when they developed skills such as sharing with others and taking turns," Dennis says. "This often times isn't learned at home where children are not around many others outside their parents and siblings."
Blackwell agrees.
"I would not change a thing about our PreK experience," she says. "The teachers poured into our children, and they were able to learn while still getting to be little."
As the district looks to commemorate the Early Learning Collaborative's ten years throughout the 2026-2027 school year, the power of the foundation set for students – both in academics and in learning to work and grow together – is not lost on Dr. Burton as she reflects on growing some of our community's youngest students.
"We've seen these investments in the SOELC and our children contribute to our district's continued academic growth, which is something we can all be proud of," she says. "Our PreK students may be our smallest learners, but their impact is immeasurable. We are incredibly grateful to have been part of this journey and to continue building a strong foundation for the future of our students and community."
