Grant Awarded to Launch Early Childhood Education Pilot
Early childhood education is incredibly important. When it comes to our children’s formative years, it’s critical to provide high-quality education to them. But what does the term even mean? Early childhood education refers to the time period from birth to when they enter kindergarten. It’s when they first learn to interact with others, including their parents, teachers, and other students. It’s also when they begin to learn and develop interests and form connections.
But before we talk more about this pilot program and grant funding, there is a grant for North Carolina programs to help improve the skills of early childhood education educators.
Dr. Jessica Alvarado, academic program director for the BA in Early Childhood Development at National University, says that it’s even more than just about basic skills. That’s why early childhood education funding is so important.
“It’s so much more than that,” she says. “It’s a time when children learn critical social and emotional skills and a partnership is formed between the child, their parents, and the teacher. When this is done successfully, it lays the groundwork for it to continue throughout the child’s education.”
This is the reason why programs focusing on creating healthy environments for early childhood are meaningful. And it’s also great to hear that a grant has been awarded to Montgomery County Educational Service Center. This grant will be awarded for MCESC to launch an early childhood education pilot.
Early Childhood Education Funding Is Essential
So let’s talk a bit about this pilot program. It was awarded to Montgomery County Educational Service Center, by Caresource. This $96,000 grant will allow for the center to help bring a new early childhood education pilot program to Ohio. MCESC will be joining with several partners on this project. These partners include:
- Dr. Bruce Perry
- The Neurosequential Network
- The Village Network (TVN)
Together these partners will come together to develop the first trauma and neurobiologically-informed replicable Neurosequential Model Preschool Program. This program will be the very first of its kind. Here’s what Dan McCabe, CareSource Chief of Staff and CEO, CareSource Foundation, had to say about this grant award:
“We’re proud to partner with the MCESC and Dr. Perry to bring this pioneering program to Dayton children who may have otherwise fallen behind because of the challenges they’ve faced at a young age.”
Dan McCabe/caresource Foundation CEO
This program will include pre-school level children who are in foster-care, kinship-care, or those children who have already been through the adoption process. This new model will provide support for children-at-risk. These children may be at risk for social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. According to the center, the goal is to build resiliency among these children and their families.
The Emergence of This Program
Building resiliency among children from an early age is so valuable to social and emotional development. Especially for children who have already had to experience so many challenges. Hopefully, we will be able to see many more programs and models to help children. Furthermore, there is an entire grant category dedicated to preschool and early education. Visit the GrantWatch FAQs page to learn more about how to find grants in your area.