PA Awarded $51.7 million through Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant

Governor Corbett announced the US Department of Education grant on December 19. Initiatives to be funded by the grant include:

• Establishing 50 local Early Childhood Education Community Innovation Zones to serve the lowest performing elementary schools in the state
• Improving access for children with high needs to high-quality early learning programs
• Increasing access and delivery of high-quality professional development for early learning educators
• Developing a no-cost universal Kindergarten Entry Inventory for voluntary use by schools to better understand the needs of students entering kindergarten
• Operating 4 Governor’s Institutes for nearly 3,000 pre-K to grade 3 educators to experience and share strategies/best practices