jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org<\/a>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]LEXINGTON, KY \u2013\u00a0The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has hired Benjamin Gies to lead its long-standing early childhood policy work and coalition, Strong Start KY, and to develop a new focus on helping communities design high-quality early childhood ecosystems. The community-level systems-building work will begin in Owensboro and is supported by a generous grant from the Public Life Foundation of Owensboro.<\/p>\nGies is a James Madison Memorial Fellow, a graduate of Bellarmine University and the University of Louisville. He is a former member of the Jefferson County Board of Education and has been recognized as a champion in advocacy by the Child Care Advocates of Kentucky and numerous other statewide coalitions. He currently is earning his Doctorate in Leadership and Policy from Vanderbilt University.[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”14665″ animation=”slideInRight”][vc_column_text animation=”slideInRight” el_class=”caption”]<\/p>\n
Benjamin Gies, Director, Early Childhood Policy and Practice<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]\u201cA strong early childhood system at the state and local level is the foundation for later success in school and life. I\u2019m excited to welcome Ben on board,\u201d said Brigitte Blom Ramsey, Prichard Committee President and CEO, \u00a0\u201cto begin more tightly connecting our state policy progress to exceptional local practice that leads to better outcomes for kids and our communities. We know true innovation for a Big Bold Future starts at the local level and I\u2019m excited to have Ben leading this innovation in the Prichard Committee\u2019s work.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]Gies will serve as Director of Early Childhood Policy and Practice at the Prichard Committee beginning April 19. He will lead the Committee\u2019s Strong Start KY coalition, work with national organizations providing thought leadership in early childhood, and support the community of Owensboro\/Daviess County in\u00a0designing a high-quality early childhood ecosystem that supports stronger kindergarten readiness and proficiency in 3rd<\/sup>\u00a0grade reading and mathematics for each and every student.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]”Through direct engagement with parents, educators, and community members at the grassroots level, our commonwealth can ensure that it prioritizes early learning in the lives of its youth.\u00a0By investing a little today, we can impact the lives of thousands of children who are only now taking their first steps onto life\u2019s stage. I am thrilled to continue in my life’s mission to advance education in our commonwealth in such a critical area of focus.”[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]Gies previously served as the Policy and Advocacy Director for Kentucky Youth Advocates (KYA) where he worked closely with Kentucky\u2019s Congressional delegation helping to ensure greater federal resources for childcare.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]”This kind of innovative initiative\u00a0has a chance to positively impact the ecosystem\u00a0of childcare in Owensboro and across the commonwealth,” said Dr. Terry Brooks, Executive Director of KYA.[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]The Public Life Foundation\u2019s grant to the Prichard Committee is part of a $4-million early childhood education initiative. Bruce Hager, chair\u00a0of the foundation, said he hopes the project will enable opportunities that bring together the community through civic engagement.<\/p>\n\u201cThe Prichard Committee has a long-standing commitment to improving education outcomes for students in the commonwealth,\u201d Hager said. \u201cWe are thrilled to support them in work that will have roots in Owensboro but will expand throughout the state to benefit early learners from Pikeville to Paducah.\u201d[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1\/4″][vc_single_image image=”14671″ animation=”slideInRight”][vc_column_text animation=”slideInRight” el_class=”caption”]<\/p>\n
Bruce Hager, Chair, Public Life Foundation of Owensboro<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInRight”]<\/p>\n
###<\/p>\n
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence is an independent, nonpartisan, citizen-led organization working to improve education in Kentucky \u2013 early childhood through postsecondary.<\/em><\/p>\n[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image alignment=”center” image=”12392″ animation=”fadeInUp”][vc_empty_space][wyde_heading subheading_tag=”h3″ style=”2″ title=”Benjamin Gies hired to lead early childhood focus for the Prichard Committee” animation=”slideInLeft”][vc_empty_space][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner][vc_column_text animation=”fadeInLeft”]April 14, 2021 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: Jessica Fletcher, Senior Director, Communications & External Affairs (cell) 859-539-0511 jessica.fletcher@prichardcommittee.org[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space][\/vc_column_inner][\/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”3\/4″][vc_column_text]LEXINGTON, KY \u2013\u00a0The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has hired Benjamin Gies to lead its<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":5521,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"passster_activate_protection":false,"passster_protect_child_pages":"","passster_protection_type":"password","passster_password":"","passster_activate_overwrite_defaults":"","passster_headline":"","passster_instruction":"","passster_placeholder":"","passster_button":"","passster_id":"","passster_activate_misc_settings":"","passster_redirect_url":"","passster_hide":"no","passster_area_shortcode":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[80],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5520","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-press-release"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5520"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6089,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5520\/revisions\/6089"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5521"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5520"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5520"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/prichard-backup.com\/July\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5520"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}