City Fights Crime with Preschool Education

JACKSONVILLE, FL - Several custodial day cares across the Northside are expected to be converted into early learning centers.

The city is calling it The Jacksonville Journey's number one priority in 2009.

In all, 25 day care centers on the Northside will make the transition.

Earnestine Jefferson is the Director at "The Exceptional Day Care and The Arts," on North Pearl Street. She has worked there for the past 22 years and has played a major role in hundreds of children's lives.

"They turn me on with a high."

Working in a high-crime area, Jefferson has seen first-hand the hardships that many of the youth in her community go through. Starting in early March, Jefferson's day care will be one of the first day cares in The Jacksonville Journey plan to transition into an early learning center and focus on preschool education.

"It addresses the total child, the self-esteem, the learning," said Jefferson. "I would say priming the appetite for learning and once you get them into the fabric of learning, then great things happen."

The city will provide mentoring and help Jefferson's staff get the teaching credentials needed to teach early education.

"With the way the economy the way that it is, it's hard enough to keep the salaries going, the taxes going, feeding the kids what they need, so with the mayor taking care of this end of it, it's a blessing."

Jefferson says she is confident her day care will continue to play an important role in her children's future and help transform the community.

"I think it's going to have an impact from the cradle to college."

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