May, 2009

Community Foundation’s Early Years Count Education Initiative Coordinators Receive HighScope Award

Ann Rosen and Sue Christensen, co-directors of the Family Connection of St. Joseph County, Inc., received the David P. Weikart Achievement Award at the 2009 HighScope Annual International conference, held in early May in Ypsilanti, Michigan. The HighScope Educational Research Foundation presents the award annually to a recipient (or recipients) who has made outstanding contributions to the field of early childhood care and education.

Rosen and Christensen have coordinated the major components of the Community Foundation of St. Joseph County’s Early Years Count Education Initiative since its inception almost a decade ago. As a result of their work, some 400 local early childhood teachers (including the entire staff of the St. Joseph County Head Start program) have received extensive training, mentoring, and support in the HighScope curriculum.
“Ann and Sue have brought an extraordinary level of personal commitment, competence, perseverance and talent to this work,” says Community Foundation President Rose Meissner, warmly. “It is wonderful to see them receive this well-deserved recognition.”

The HighScope Educational Research Foundation—an independent, nonprofit organization—was founded in 1970 in Ypsilanti, Michigan. Committed to increasing the life chances of children throughout the world, HighScope conducts research, curriculum development, training, and publishing related to supporting teachers and parents in the education and development of young children. For more information on HighScope, please visit: www.highscope.org.