ACT of Alexandria Awarded $250,000 in Governor Northam’s Third Round of Mixed-Delivery Preschool Grants
ALEXANDRIA, VA–ACT for Alexandria Early Care and Education Workgroup will establish two new mixed-delivery classrooms, each with 18 children, in two currently under served, high-need neighborhoods.
“The investments we make in quality preschool education today will have long-term returns for our children, our future workforce, and our economy,” said Governor Northam. “In recent years, these grants have produced tremendous results across the Commonwealth. With this new funding we will continue to support innovative partnerships between public and private entities, increasing the number of children served by these programs, and giving more of our students the opportunity to enter kindergarten poised for success.”
Governor Northam Tuesday, December 11, 2018 that the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation (VECF), in consultation with the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE), is awarding six grants to local communities that proposed innovative approaches to expand access to high-quality preschool for at-risk children through partnerships with community-based early childhood programs. This is the third cohort of mixed-delivery grantees since 2016. Funding for the grants was included in the budget for Fiscal Year 2019–2020.
“Access to high quality early childhood education programming helps close the achievement gap that unfortunately exists before students enter kindergarten,” said Secretary of Education Atif Qarni. “These grants support communities to help meet the unique needs of their families and young learners in exciting ways that foster collaboration amongst public and private providers.”
“Every community has its own unique needs and circumstances—and opportunities for expanding access to high-quality preschool programs,” said Superintendent of Public Instruction James Lane. “The innovative approaches funded with these tailored mixed-delivery grants will make a difference in the lives of children and their families.”
VECF will award approximately $250,000 each for two-year grant terms to ACT for Alexandria Early Care and Education Workgroup, the Early Learning Project at James Madison University’s College of Education, Rappahannock County Public Schools, United Way-Thomas Jefferson Area, United Way of Roanoke Valley, and New River Valley Regional Commission.
