BRAF tasked by city leaders with exploring implementation of report’s recommendations
Baton Rouge, LA – The City-Parish, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, and Baton Rouge Area Foundation today announced the release of the Early Childhood Education (ECE) Task Force Report. This Task Force was formed in 2024 as a response to findings from the Foundation’s Opportunity Data Project showing only half of children from low-income families are prepared for kindergarten. It united community leaders, ECE providers, government officials, educators, and business owners to provide strategic guidance for enhancing early childhood programs and services throughout East Baton Rouge Parish. After eight months of collaborative meetings, a comprehensive strategy informed by data, input from partners, and national best practices to maximize public funding for quality education has been outlined in the report, which can be found at braf.org/ece-report.
The report recommends that leaders in East Baton Rouge establish a coordinating entity, distinct from providers of care and education. As proposed, this entity would focus exclusively on building and executing community-wide, systems-level coordination in partnership with schools, ECE centers, family childcare providers, Head Start, Early Head Start, higher education agencies, government partners, and other nonprofits. Establishing such an organization will allow ECE providers to focus on implementing the highest quality of care for our community’s young learners, while the coordinating entity can work towards aligning administrative coordination and funding streams that help providers to ultimately increase access to high quality seats in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Mayor-President Sid Edwards and Superintendent LaMont Cole have asked the Baton Rouge Area Foundation to convene a working group to evaluate next steps to make this coordinating entity a reality. The working group is expected to take approximately 6-8 months to develop a detailed plan for the thoughtful transition of administrative oversight of critical ECE activities to the coordinating entity. This change will not happen overnight or in a vacuum; it will be guided by thorough, stakeholder-informed planning.
Members of the group will include representatives from the City-Parish, The East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Louisiana Department of Education, Early Childcare providers, families, early-childhood
education experts, charitable foundations, and the business community. In addition to having regular feasibility and planning workshops, the working group will host a series of community meetings with families and providers to better understand how to bring more community voice to a unified system of early learning. Dates for those meetings are expected to be announced later this summer.
“At East Baton Rouge Parish Schools, we are deeply committed to ensuring every child has access to high- quality early childhood education. Through ongoing collaboration with the task force, we are proud to work together to champion a shared vision for excellence that begins with our youngest learners. We support the report’s recommendations to establish a coordinated system that will expand access, enhance quality, and maximize funding for the children of our community. This report marks an important step forward— we are excited to continue leading this effort to build a stronger, more unified foundation for every child’s success,” said LaMont Cole, Superintendent of the East Baton Rouge Parish School System.
Mayor Sid Edwards added, “There is no greater investment we can make in the future of our community than investing as early as possible in our children and their families. Communities across the country have developed similar models, and we have the chance to learn from their successes. I fully support the creation of a dedicated coordinating entity that can get all the right players to the table to improve education outcomes in Baton Rouge.”
Chris Meyer, president and CEO of BRAF, said “The Foundation is honored to have been tapped to facilitate this important process. We have long worked towards improving outcomes for our community and fostering collaboration between public, private, and non-governmental agencies. We are excited to put this experience to work in supporting the city, school system, and providers in mapping a plan for coordination in early childhood development and learning.”
To read the full taskforce report, please visit braf.org/ece-report.
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About the Mayor-President: Mayor-President Sid Edwards serves as the chief executive of the consolidated city-parish government, overseeing the delivery of essential public services and the implementation of local policies. This office leads efforts to promote economic growth, improve infrastructure, ensure public safety, and enhance the overall quality of life for residents. With a focus on collaboration, accountability, and innovation, the Mayor-President Edwards works closely with the Metro Council, community leaders, and residents to build a stronger, more inclusive Baton Rouge.
About the East Baton Rouge Parish School System: The East Baton Rouge Parish School System (EBRPSS) is the second-largest public school district in Louisiana, serving more than 39,000 students. EBRPSS is dedicated to providing a world-class, innovative education that empowers every student to excel in a rapidly changing world. By fostering academic excellence, creativity, and critical thinking, the district prepares students to thrive in college, career, and life. With diverse, cutting-edge programs —including STEM, arts integration, career and technical education, and dual enrollment opportunities— EBRPSS is shaping the future of education and building a strong foundation for the Baton Rouge community. For more information, visit www.ebrschools.org.
About the Baton Rouge Area Foundation: Among the largest community foundations in the country, the Baton Rouge Area Foundation has sought to improve the quality of life in greater Baton Rouge and across south Louisiana since 1964.
The Foundation pursues its mission by serving donors to build the assets that drive initiatives and solutions, supporting local nonprofits to ensure overall impact and sustainability, engaging community leaders to develop appropriate responses to emerging opportunities and challenges, and by partnering with others to leverage collective resources and create the capacity to be a stimulus of positive regional change.
For more information, visit BRAF.org.