The Kids Count report shows 30 percent of Mississippi children were living in poverty in 2008, compared to 18 percent nationally. It also shows 45 percent of Mississippi children were living in single-parent families in 2008, compared to 32 percent nationally.
"Those two factors, coupled together, really set the stage for some difficult trajectory for young children and their families," said Dr. Linda H. Southward, a Mississippi State University’s Social Science Research Center professor who led the effort to gather information for Kids Count in Mississippi.
Western Line is one of the few school districts in Mississippi to offer publicly funded academic programs for 4-year-olds. Green said the district started the optional full-day classes during the 2009-10 school year, and 70 children enrolled. He said that was about 60 to 65 percent of the eligible youngsters.
"It's amazing to see what those little minds, at 4 years old, can absorb," he said.
Green said Western Line has been using federal stimulus money to fund the program. In a district where about 87 percent of children qualify for free lunch, he said he'll find a way to keep paying for pre-kindergarten.
"I could say I don't have any money, either," Green said. "But I'm finding money."
