DOE Awards $8.5 Million in Preschool Grants

DOE Awards $8.5 Million in Preschool Grants

The New Jersey Department of Education announced earlier this month it awarded grants totaling some $8.5 million to 14 preschool providers.

The grants will be used to help teachers and assistants become certified; for teacher training; to implement appropriate curriculums; and to establish other strategies to help build quality preschool programs.

To be eligible for a grant, a provider had to show that at least 75 percent of the children enrolled in the preschool program were at or below the federal poverty level. Each provider will receive $3,000 per low-income child enrolled at the time of the grant. The grant period is from Feb.1, 2008 to January 2009.

“Years of research and our experiences in the Abbott districts have shown that high-quality preschool for at-risk children is the single most productive step we can take to improve the quality of education in our state,” Education Commissioner Lucille E. Davy said in an announcement. “When at-risk children attend quality preschool, they enter kindergarten more ready to learn. They have already experienced the thrill that comes with understanding and achieving, and they are ready to move on to the next level. The gap between these children and their more economically privileged classmates is dramatically reduced.”