| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Contact: Beth Day |
| March 26, 2001 | (202)224-6404 |
Washington, D.C. – Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS) today introduced the Lower Mississippi Delta Education Access and Improvement Act of 2001 which would help to improve the health and education of the children of the region.
Cochran said, "My bill will authorize grants to institutions of higher learning located in the Lower Mississippi Delta for the improvement of education and student and teacher performance." "The character and fabric of our Nation have been significantly enhanced by the Mississippi Delta's unique blend of the talents that created blues music and Pulitzer Prize literature, but the problems facing this region overshadow the triumphs of the past," Cochran said. "These problems include below average reading skills among elementary children, lower levels of accreditation among teachers, and high levels of poverty," he added. Despite these problems Cochran noted that "there is a sense of optimism among community leaders and educators." Universities, community based organizations, and schools are developing comprehensive initiatives to achieve new success in teacher training and retention, preschool learning readiness, parental education, school-wide performance, birth to Kindergarten preventative health care and immunization delivery. Cochran said, "These are the people who best know their problems, and more importantly, how to solve them. In my opinion, these are the efforts that deserve federal support."
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