Education starts in the home: This Baton Rouge organization is helping families of young children

When children are little, their first teachers are their parents.

But when it comes time for preschool, not every young child is enrolled. Sometimes, if they haven't been trained, parents and caregivers don't know how to implement playtime, socialization, reading time and developmental learning.

The Baton Rouge Early Childhood Education Collaborative is here to help parents by providing home-based early childhood education and support for families and caregivers of underserved preschool-aged children.

"We are about kindergarten readiness, but we are really about school readiness," said Cathy Griffin, an education consultant with the collaborative. "We want to tap into children's curiosity that they're born with."

In 2021, Louisiana Policy Institute for Children conducted research that