Taylor Rose colors a picture at the Children's Creative Center at Butler County Community College on Sept. 30. The Butler County Early Care and Education Council wants to see how well the community supports families in fostering learning in young children.

The Butler County Early Care and Education Council wants to help children get ready for school and is looking for parents to give it ideas on how to do so.

The group, made up of individuals representing social service agencies, health providers, parents and schools, wants to meet with families of children younger than 6 to examine how the community can better promote early learning and healthy development and support families to do the same.

The council, in partnership with the state Office of Child Development and Early Learning, is conducting a pilot project to see how well the community helps families in fostering learning in young children.

The first step will be a meeting with parents, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday at the North Main Street Church of God, 1201 N. Main St. Ext.

The gathering will be a group conversation about raising children in Butler County, according to Julie Thumma, coordinator of the Butler Early Care and Education Council. “We're having the meeting because the council was asked by Pa. Office of Child Development and Early Learning to participate in this pilot project,” said Thumma. “We were one of only four communities in the state asked to participate.”

She said the council was selected to partner with the state based on geography and the council's ability to implement a community-wide coordinated effort to promote school readiness.

“We want to get a better understanding of how the community engages and supports families with young children,” said Thumma.

She said the meeting will help the council see what can be done to aid families in preparing their children for school.“With 90 percent of a child's brain developed by the age of 5, we have to make sure parents are supported in their roles as a child's teacher and access the resources they need to encourage a child's healthy development and learning,” Thumma said.“The meeting is open to anyone who has an interest in supporting children and early education,” said Judy Zuzack, the council's chairman.Zuzack and Thummahope that families will continue to be part of the discussion after the meeting is over.Zuzack said the council will use the meeting's results to develop a plan to strengthen families' efforts to get their children ready for school.“In the spring, we will start to implement some of the facets of the action plan,” said Zuzack.“It depends on what we find out who the targets will be,” said Zuzack.Thumma said the goal of the meeting is to find out what families need to feel confident in raising their child to be ready for school.“We are really interested in finding out the families' point of view on the services offered by the county,” said Zuzack.

<B>WHO: </B>Families of children younger than age 6 living in Butler County<B>WHEN: </B>9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday<B>WHERE: </B>North Main Street Church of God, 1201 N. Main St. Ext.<B>CONTACT: </B>Make reservations with Julie Thumma at 724-283-1010, Ext. 310, or e-mail jthumma@lifesteps.net

Landin Schooley plays at the BC3 Children's Creative Center on Sept. 30. A meeting for parents will begin at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday at the North Main Street Church of God.