The Obama administration has announced that Minnesota is one of nine states to receive a Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant. For Minnesota, this will mean approximately $45 million over five years to expand the capacity and infrastructure of the state to serve its most high-risk preschoolers through a variety of efforts and initiatives. CEHD’s Center for Early Education and Development (CEED) played a role in the grant’s preparation, and will play a role in its implementation.
Dr. Karen Cadigan, a CEED alumnus, now serves as director of Minnesota’s Office of Early Learning and will coordinate and lead much of the grant-funded efforts. Dr. Amy Susman-Stillman, CEED co-director, and her colleagues proposed creating professional development materials and conducting training sessions to implement the expansion of Parent Aware as part of the coming effort.
Other CEED staffers will be working with the Northside Achievement Zone and three other high-poverty communities that will serve as a place-based focus for Minnesota’s efforts. Details will emerge in the weeks ahead, as this grant represents both an acknowledgment and investment in Minnesota’s early childhood system.
For more coverage of the impact of this new grant and others on children and families, see these Star Tribune news and editorial articles.