Tryon Mayor Jim Wright officially proclaimed last week the Week of the Young Child.  This year’s theme is The Early Years are the Learning Years.   “This is the time to focus our attention on the needs of Polk County’s young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services, in our community, that meet those needs,” said Cathie Campbell, Partnership for Children of the Foothills board chair. Today we know more than ever before about the importance of children’s earliest years in shaping their learning and development. Yet, never before has the needs of young children and their families been more pressing.  We have only 2,000 days between the time a baby is born and when that child shows up for the first day of kindergarten.  We know through research that high quality early education yields higher education rates, reduced crime, higher earnings and better jobs.  As a result, economists estimate that every dollar invested in early education produces a 10  percent return on investment through increased personal achievement and social productivity.For more information, visit http://www.rutherfordpolk.org or call executive director Barry Gold at 828-245-2802.

– article submitted 

by Suzanne Metcalf