FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
JACQUELINE JONES, SENIOR ADVISOR ON EARLY LEARNING TO THE SECRETARY OF EDUCATION TO DISCUSS IMPORTANCE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION MARCH 6 IN CHICAGO

CHICAGO (February 17, 2012) — Jacqueline Jones, senior advisor on Early Learning to the Secretary of Education, comes to Chicago on Tuesday, March 6 to speak on “Research Supporting Early Learning’s Long Term Impact.” Jones will address Chicago educators, elected officials, corporate and foundation executives, and others interested in early childhood learning at an invitation-only event at Chase Bank, 10 South Dearborn Street beginning at 10:00 am. “This is an opportunity for representatives from various sectors of the Chicago Community to hear about how early learning (age 3 to 3rd grade) impacts improve student achievement, higher graduation rates, higher college completion rates and higher employment rates,” said Kenneth Hill, executive director of the Chicago PreCollege Science & Engineering Program, event organizers. An advocate of early childhood learning, Jacqueline Jones came to the Department of Education from the New Jersey State Department of Education where she served as assistant commissioner for the Division of Early Childhood Education. Prior to state government, Jones worked for 16 years at the Educational Testing Service (ETS) as a senior research scientist and director of early childhood research and development. Jones also has been a visiting associate professor at Harvard University and a visiting scholar for the National Assessment of Educational Progress at ETS. Jones has directed numerous federallyand foundation-funded projects on early childhood learning. She has many published writings and conference presentations on the topic and has lectured extensively on the subject. Jones earned her doctorate and master’s degrees in communication science and disorders from Northwestern University, and has a Bachelor of Arts in speech pathology from Hunter College.

Her presentation in Chicago will focus on the positive impact and long-term implications of early learning for children age 3 to grade 3. Additionally, Dr. Jones will participate in a question & answer session immediately following the presentation. “We are honored to host this event at Chase Bank,” said Beverly E. Meek, (title) The Chicago Pre-College Science & Engineering Program (ChiS&E) is an innovative program designed to develop student and parent knowledge in science and engineering, instill a love of learning in the two areas, and provide parents and teachers with tools and experience to prepare the scientists and engineers of tomorrow. Targeting seven schools in low-income African-American and Latino communities in Chicago, ChiS&E provides highly engaging, age-appropriate handson science and engineering activities for Chicago Public School (CPS) students in grades K-3 and their parents. For more information on ChiS&E, visit www.chiprep.org or the bi-lingual website at www.mylittleengineers.com.

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