Parents with children from birth to 4 years old are invited to attend the first meeting of Russellville’s First 10 program, to be held in the West Elementary cafeteria this Thursday at 6 p.m. A meal will be served, and take-homes include a book and a craft.

The program will include:

• A popular award-winning children’s book that is age-appropriate for young children.
• Tips on how to read the book to your child, engage them in a story and follow up with fun activities.
• Dinner, served at the beginning of the session to all who attend.

Russellville First 10 is a school-community partnership focused on supporting young children and their families. First 10 is working on improving the transition to kindergarten, hosting play and learning groups for young children and caregivers and organizing a community-wide Born Ready campaign.

Born Ready is an initiative established by the Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education, focused on raising awareness among Alabama parents of the importance of early brain development and high-quality early care and education.

The mission of ADECE is to inspire and support parents and caregivers, as well as to deliver cohesive, comprehensive systems of top-quality education and care so all Alabama children thrive and learn.

Born Ready boasts it is not only developed to inform parents; it’s designed to empower them and give them access to the tools they need to be their children’s first and best teacher.

“We would love our community to get involved in this school-community partnership to support young children and families,” said Russellville Elementary teacher Suzanne Glass.