INDIANAPOLIS – Today, Early Learning Indiana awarded $248,500 in capacity building grants to four early education providers, as a part of its ongoing mission to expand access to high-quality early education programs throughout the state.
The grants will create a total of 153 new permanent high-quality early education seats in Grant, Lake, Madison and Montgomery counties and are made possible through the Lilly Endowment’s support of Early Learning Indiana.
The grant recipients and anticipated impact are:
- Elwood Elementary School, Elwood, $93,250, 68 new seats
- Fuzzy Bear Ministry Preschool, Ladoga, $55,000, 24 new seats
- Marion Community Schools Little Giants, Marion, $50,000, 21 new seats
- Mary McLeod Bethune Child Development Center, Gary, $50,250, 40 new seats
“We are excited to continue our partnership with these programs to create more opportunities for our youngest learners,” said Ted Maple, Early Learning Indiana’s President and CEO. “From years of study, we know that exposure to high-quality early learning sets children up for lifetimes of success, and it’s our goal to work to ensure every Hoosier child has that opportunity.”
In 2015, the four programs were also awarded capacity building grants to add permanent spots for early learners. Elwood Elementary School added 24 new seats with a $49,995 grant; Fuzzy Bear Ministry Preschool received $25,215 and created 29 new seats; Mary McLeod Bethune Child Development Center received $50,000 and added 112 new spots; and Marion Community Schools Little Giants created 90 new seats with its $50,000 award.
Since 2015, Early Learning Indiana has made 17 different capacity building grants, totaling more than $888,000 and has created more than 900 new high-quality seats across the state. According to Indiana’s Early Learning Advisory Committee there are 504,906 Hoosiers children under the age of 5, yet only 42,299 are in high-quality early learning programs.
High-quality providers interested in expanding their programs should contact Early Learning Indiana HERE to apply for funding.
Media Contact: Jeff Harris, 317.636.9197 ext. 337, jeffh@earlylearningindiana.org
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