Maryland Receives $15M Federal Grant to Expand Pre-K

As reported by WBOC16, Maryland has been awarded a $15 million federal grant to expand access to high quality pre-kindergarten for four-year olds. As reported,

Maryland’s Preschool Development Grant application spans four years and builds on the State’s pre-kindergarten Expansion Act of 2014. . .Under the expansion, the State is partnering with local providers and schools systems across the state to expand high-quality full and half day pre-K to another 1,563 children during the 2014-15 school year. After an application process was conducted by MSDE during the spring, the O’Malley-Brown Administration announced $4.3 million in grants to 24 providers spanning nearly every part of Maryland. The federal grant award announced today will expand access for nearly 3,000 additional students during the 2015-16 school year.

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell announced that 18 states have been awarded grants, totaling more than $226 million, under the Preschool Development Grants program.

Expansion Grants (Year One) for Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge States include:

  • Illinois, $20,000,000
  • Maryland, $15,000,000
  • Massachusetts, $15,000,000
  • New Jersey, $17,498,115
  • Rhode Island, $2,290,840
  • Vermont, $7,231,681

Total: $77,020,636

For more information, see the US Department of Education, the full story from WBOC16 and our previous post Maryland Applies for Federal Preschool Expansion Grant.