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This is part of a series, "5 Questions for the Mayor," that explores top early learning challenges and successes in cities across the nation, produced in partnership with the National League of Cities.

1. Rochester is New York鈥檚 third-largest city. What do you most love about Rochester? 

I love the people. Having grown up in the 19^th Ward, I know first-hand many of the challenges the people of Rochester face. But there鈥檚 a lot of hope, a lot of creativity, a lot of entrepreneurship. There鈥檚 also a great spirit of community and collaboration. If you visit my city, you鈥檒l see some amazing murals; you鈥檒l get to hear top-notch musicians; you鈥檒l rub shoulders with dynamic inventors and entrepreneurs. It鈥檚 a fun place.

2. Regarding Early Learning, what are the city鈥檚 top challenges?

About half of our children are growing up in poverty. About a third of all families live below the federal poverty level, and our city school district has had a revolving door of superintendents that makes it hard to sustain progress. There are jobs being created in Rochester, but we need to do more to make sure our residents have the skills and education to fill those positions and to earn a living wage.

3. You鈥檝e been Mayor since Jan. 1, 2014. Just two months into your tenure, you formed an Early Learning Council. What is the Council and why did you prioritize early childhood development so significantly and early in your tenure?

I started the Early Learning Council 鈥� made up of experts, business leaders, funders, practitioners and parents 鈥� because I knew education was key to giving Rochester鈥檚 children a fighting chance at life. That meant building a strong foundation for learning 鈥� and that鈥檚 why we started the 3-to-3 initiative. With high quality preschool and evaluation and remediation for any developmental delays by age 3, we鈥檙e getting kids on track to read by grade 3, which is critical to future success in school.

4. You鈥檙e a daughter of Rochester, born and raised in the city鈥檚 19^th Ward neighborhood. What has education meant for your life?

Education has meant everything in my life. My grandparents were sharecroppers in the South before they came to Rochester to give our family better opportunities. Like many Rochester kids, I faced challenges as a teen, and I benefited from the support of people like my grandfather and my high school principal. I knew I wanted to be a lawyer from a young age, but it took persistence for me to achieve my goals.

5. What are the key ingredients for building an Early Learning city? 

One of the things that allows Rochester to stand out in addressing early childhood education is that it is a community effort and it involves our local businesses, our universities, our health centers and our nonprofit community. Collectively, we鈥檙e working to empower parents as their children鈥檚 first teachers. And we鈥檝e got wonderful professional men and women who serve as mentors in our schools, showing kids that success is possible. These partnerships 鈥� and our collective commitment 鈥� are critical to our success.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on The 74. Learn more here.