The Coleman Center for Families and Children

• MS Legislature established in 2013- allows Mississippians to designate their state taxes to make a direct investment in a local PreK Collaborative.
• Each contribution to an approved Early Learning Collaborative (ELC) is eligible for a dollar for dollar state tax credit up to $24 million.

• Dolly Parton Imagination Library
• Parents as Teachers
• English as a Second Language Parent Educator
• Student safety equipment for Petal Primary School
• Pre-K playground equipment
• Curriculum and furniture for Pre-K classrooms
• Seat belts on school buses (as required by law for transporting PreK children)
• Yearly cost of running The Coleman Center
• Backyard Bus maintenance and upkeep

• Step 1
  • Contact lead partner Jana Perry, director of The Coleman Center, at 601.584.4704 or jana.perry@petalschools.com
• Step 2
  • Verify with lead partner that the cap has not been reached, and make donation (donation certificate will be provided by MSDE)
• Step 3
  • Claim donation on 2023 Mississippi tax return to receive full credit (use form 80-401 on the Department of Revenue's website)
  • All donations must be processed by December 31.

• Research shows that high quality Pre-K programs ensure kids are "kindergarten ready," meaning they will have higher math and reading scores, lower rates of grade retention, better high school graduation rates and a host of other traits that help put students on a path to college and career success.
• Petal's Excel By 5 helped start the Early Learning Collaborative in Mississippi.
• Petal is one of the first and longest running Early Learning Collaborative's in the state. 

The Petal School District (PSD) and The Coleman Center for Families and Children (CFFC) believe that learning begins at birth and that parents are their child’s first teachers. Parents can join the Parents as Teachers Program.

For children who are identified with learning or developmental delays, PSD partners with the Mississippi State Department of Health's First Steps Program.

Families with preschool age children can also engage in weekly programming at CFFC. This helps to promote a child’s development through themed activities in literacy and language, fine and gross motor, intellectual and social emotional activities. Please check our social media for times.

All of our partners receive the following opportunities to ensure a smooth transition from Pre-K to Kindergarten:

1. Professional Learning Communities
2. Quarterly Partner Meetings
3. Access to Numerous Community-Wide Preschool Learning Opportunities and Events
4. Developmental and Health Screenings
5. Referrals for Services
6. Access to Preschool STEAM Lab and Computer Lab
7. Preschool Assessments such as the STAR, Brigance, Peabody and ASQ
8. OWL Curriculum and Supplemental Materials
9. Manipulatives & Tools to Enhance Learning Centers

At the beginning of each school year, a Transition Folder is started on each Pre-K child that will provide information to Petal Primary School about the child such as sample work, assessment scores and/or developmental/academic checklists, a photo of the child, a sample of the child’s handwriting, a sample of their artwork and a note from the child’s parent to their child’s future Kindergarten teacher.

We also hold a Kindergarten Readiness Night Event each year in April. At this event, parents come with their entering kindergartener for a special evening of exploring the school and getting more information about kindergarten. For children who need a little more time adjusting to going to “big school”, we offer Panther Prep each summer. This is a two week program offered by invitation for entering kindergarteners to give them more adjustment time.