{"id":210,"date":"2014-12-10T15:41:20","date_gmt":"2014-12-10T20:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/?p=210"},"modified":"2023-02-07T13:17:51","modified_gmt":"2023-02-07T18:17:51","slug":"governor-omalley-and-lt-governor-brown-announce-maryland-awarded-15-million-grant-to-expand-access-to-pre-k-programs-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/msde\/governor-omalley-and-lt-governor-brown-announce-maryland-awarded-15-million-grant-to-expand-access-to-pre-k-programs-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Governor O’Malley and Lt. Governor Brown Announce Maryland Awarded $15 Million Grant to Expand Access to Pre-K Programs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Federal funds will build on State’s ongoing efforts to increase number of students in high quality prekindergarten<\/em><\/h2>\n

For Immediate Release<\/p>\n

Media Contacts: Ron Boehmer, Governor’s Office: 410-974-2316,
\nBill Reinhard, Maryland State Department of Education: 410-767-0486<\/p>\n

ANNAPOLIS, MD<\/p>\n

Governor O\u2019Malley and Lt. Governor Brown announced today that Maryland has been awarded a $15 million federal grant to expand access to high quality prekindergarten for four-year olds.\u00a0 As a result, MSDE will continue to increase access to prekindergarten for families who, until now, did not meet income eligibility requirements to enroll in the programs, building on the State’s initial expansion this year.<\/p>\n

U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan and Health & Human Services Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell announced that 18 states received the awards as part of the new $226 million\u00a0Preschool Development Grants program<\/a>.\u00a0 Depending on available funding, the grant may be renewed for up to four years, for a total of $60 million.\u00a0 Secretary Duncan said that increasing access to quality prekindergarten has become a bipartisan cause, and \u201cthese states are leading the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that education is a ladder to middle class success which is why we\u2019ve focused on creating opportunity by making\u00a0record investments in Maryland\u2019s top ranked public schools<\/a>, while expanding the opportunity for a prekindergarten education to more Maryland families,\u201d said\u00a0Governor O\u2019Malley<\/strong>. \u00a0\u201cToday\u2019s award builds on the important work that we\u2019ve started and will help more of our students lead the nation and world in achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis award from our federal partners builds on our efforts to expand prekindergarten in Maryland and brings us one step closer to making high quality prekindergarten available to all of Maryland\u2019s children,\u201d said\u00a0Lt. Governor Brown<\/strong>. \u00a0\u201cBy continuing to invest in high-quality prekindergarten programs, we\u2019re helping more of our children climb the ladder of opportunity towards success and continuing to close the achievement gap throughout our state.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thirty-five states and Puerto Rico applied for the grant, one of President Obama\u2019s priority initiatives.\u00a0 Maryland applied with 18 other states that had received a Race to the Top \u2013 Early Learning Challenge grant.\u00a0 Maryland received a $50 million\u00a0Early Learning Challenge grant<\/a>\u00a0in December 2011.<\/p>\n

Maryland\u2019s Preschool Development Grant application spans four years and builds on the State\u2019s Prekindergarten Expansion Act of 2014<\/a>, which was spearheaded by Lt. Governor Brown, Senate President Miller and House Speaker Busch during this year\u2019s legislative session.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 After an application process was conducted by MSDE during the spring, the O\u2019Malley-Brown Administration announced $4.3 million in grants to 24 providers<\/a>\u00a0spanning nearly every part of Maryland.\u00a0 The federal grant award announced today will expand access for nearly 3,000 additional students during the 2015-16 school year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are absolutely elated about receiving this award. Expanding access to high-quality preschool is the single most important step we can take to improve the future of our children,\u201d said\u00a0Dr. Lillian M. Lowery, State Superintendent of Schools<\/strong>. \u00a0\u201cThe brain research is clear: When very young children are exposed to a variety of learning experiences, their foundations for learning are strengthened and accelerated.\u00a0 Investing in our children\u2019s earliest years is critical to closing the opportunity gap for success among all students.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2007 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that in Maryland, revenues to the State Treasury would increase more than $2 for every $1 spent on early education.\u00a0 The overall return on investment on general economic activity is predicted to be 8.7 times the amount invested.\u00a0 This is due to the fact that investments in early education help children succeed later in life and reduce the likelihood that a child will end up needing government assistance or spending time in a correctional facility (\u201cEnriching Children, Enriching the Nation Maryland Summary,\u201d Lynch, Economic Policy Institute, July 2007).<\/p>\n

Maryland has been a long-time leader in early childhood development, instituting a prekindergarten assessment more than a decade ago.\u00a0 As one of the O\u2019Malley-Brown Administration\u2019s\u00a016 strategic goals<\/a>, the State has set\u00a0benchmarks designed to boost the number of children in Maryland who enter kindergarten fully ready to learn<\/a>.\u00a0 Last year, 83 percent of Maryland\u2019s kindergarteners entered school fully ready \u2014 that is up 38 percent (from 60 percent) since 2005.<\/p>\n

\u00a0A fact sheet on the grant provided by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health & Human Services is attached.<\/p>\n

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