FLINT, Mich. (AP) – The University of Michigan-Flint’s early childhood education program will be offered for free to more Flint families amid the city’s crisis with lead-tainted water, officials said Monday.
The program is ideal for lead-exposed children in part because of the emphasis on providing healthy food to students every two hours, Michigan-Flint early education teacher Starletta Rett-Henry said during a news conference at Holmes STEM Academy. Lead can cause developmental delays, learning disabilities and health problems in children.
“One thing that we do know about lead exposure is that having your bellies filled with fresh fruits and vegetables helps to deter or mitigate the lead,” Rett-Henry said.
The new early education offering at Holmes is called the Great Expectations Early Childhood Program. The university and the Flint public school district said the program offers the same teaching methods used at the university’s on-campus Early Childhood Development Center, which has a waiting list of more than 300 children.
Bilal Tawwab, the superintendent of Flint Community Schools, said Great Expectations will initially accommodate up to 48 children.