Lillington –
The Harnett County Partnership for Children (HCPC) hosted Leaders for Readers on April 25th, 2012 in celebration of Week of the Young Child. Week of the Young Child is a national annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.

HCPC was delighted to have former educator, Fay Etheridge, Superintendent of Harnett County Schools, Tom Frye and Candidate for NC House of Representatives, Joe Langley participate in Leaders for Readers. The group enjoyed breakfast at the Harnett County Partnership for Children while discussing early childhood topics and discussing the importance of early childhood investments. “Children’s earliest experiences literally determine how their brains are wired. With quality early childhood education, children will be school ready, have higher graduation rates and grow into productive citizens” stated Lisa Familo, Executive Director of HCPC.

Following the breakfast, participants departed to three local NC Pre-K classrooms to read and spend time with Harnett County’s youngest citizens.

NC Pre-K is North Carolina’s Pre-kindergarten program for four-year old children. It is designed to help prepare four year old children for kindergarten, through a curriculum-based, classroom style learning environment. Each Leaders for Readers participant read the book “The Crayon Box that Talked” by Shane DeRolf.  Fay Etheridge read at Lillington-Shawtown Elementary School, Superintendent Tom Frye read at North Harnett Primary School and Joe Langley read at Lilly Pads Child Development Center.

The Harnett County Partnership for Children is a non-profit organization which utilizes Smart Start and NC Pre-K funds as well as private donations to provide programs and services that impact children during the earliest years of life, birth through age five.  For more information about Smart Start services in Harnett County, please contact (910) 893-2344 or www.harnettsmartstart.org.

 Harnett Central Middle Schools Builders Club assisted the Harnett County Partnership for Children (HCPC), a Smart Start Agency, with their third annual Book Drive, as part of HCPC’s Week of the Young Child celebration. The club members and club advisors collected gently used books to be donated to HCPC to benefit young children in Harnett County. The Partnership will distribute these books to Harnett County child care centers and Harnett County family home providers through Smart Start Quality Enhancement and donate the remaining books to the Harnett County Library. Builders Club members along with advisors Karen Stephens, Kristi Millican, Emmy McLamb and Lillington Kiwanis President David Stephens, Kyle Bain, Callie Banholzer, Emma Bartlett, Christin Brown, Erica Cantrell, Ashli Carmichael, Claudia Chavez, Brandy Chavez, Mericela Chavez, Marissa Comly, Maya Davis, Zach Hayes, Jordan Jones, Ashlyn Loehman, Brooke Mason, Kimberly McGee, Rebecca Peters, Landon Polinski, Celeste Railey, Collin Raynor, Joey Rollins, Layne Stephens, Madison Turlington, Natalie Wakefield, Armon Williams, and Sarah Wilson.