More than 400 attend 'remarkable'  Community Conversation on Early Childhood Education 

More than 400 Southern Arizonans attended the Community Conversation on Early Childhood Education May 20 at the Tucson Convention Center.

"If we don't get early childhood education right," said Peter Likins, chairman of the Tucson Regional Town Hall, in opening comments, "then we can't get anything right." Likins encouraged participants to view the day as not the end, but the beginning, of a journey to improve early childhood education.

"This community forum is quite remarkable," said speaker Jane Henderson, a board member of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. "I haven't seen anything like this." 

The fourth in a series of Town Hall follow-up meetings, the "conversation" was sponsored by United Way of Tucson and Southern Arizona, the Tucson Regional Town Hall, Southern Arizona Leadership Council and First Things First. 

Previous Town Hall follow-up meetings have considered water, literacy and arts and culture. More details on them are available here.

For a copy of the flyer advertising the meeting, click here.

Tucsonans strongly support early childhood education. Read the results of a Community Voices survey here.

A long journey that leads to a great community!

The Tucson Regional Town Hall was highly successful when 160 Tucsonans met for three days in May 2007. They discussed critical issues facing the Tucson region, including education, land-use planning, water, transportation and workforce development.

The participants came together in the recognition that if we are to preserve what we all love about the Tucson region - and provide healthy futures for all our children - it will take creative ideas, passionate leadership and regional collaboration.

The participants realized that the Town Hall was not an end in itself, but only another step in the long journey that leads to a great community.

Now, that journey is continuing as different organizations hold follow-up meetings on the 12 major topics at the Town Hall. We urge you to join in that journey with thousands of other Tucsonans as they weigh the Town Hall recommendations and seek ways to improve and implement the most urgent and productive of the recommendations.

Town Hall participants engaged in spirited discussions.

Progress Report 

The most important step in the Town Hall process was the commitment to follow-up with a series of implementation meetings, with reports produced on the Town Hall's progress. 

The first progress report, released in December, 2007, is available here.

Follow-up activities

More information on follow-up activities is available here. 

Be Involved! 

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