The Iowa Business Council is hosting conferences on “early childhood education and development awareness” this week in Iowa City and Des Moines. University of Northern Iowa president Robert Koob spoke at today’s (Tuesday’s) forum in Iowa City.”We need to shift our focus from one about blaming schools to one that’s more constructive, to one that says ‘How am I helping each child get as far along in life as they possibly can?'” Koob says. Educators like Koob as well as business leaders are meeting in small groups this (Tuesday) afternoon to talk about ways to improve preschool education in the state. Koob says the state appropriated “significant new dollars” for preschools, and he says First Lady Christie Vilsack, who spoke just before Koob, credited the state’s business community for lobbying for that extra money. A specialist in early childhood brain development was the keynote speaker at today’s luncheon in Iowa City. The next forum in Des Moines on Thursday will feature the Iowa president of Qwest, Governor Vilsack and the executive director of the School Administrators of Iowa as well as Koob.