Giving Compass' Take:

• Sarah Rittling explains how the competitive structure of the Preschool Development Grant program will drive results. 

• How can funders help states get the most out of this program?

• Learn how preschools can be improved to support vulnerable students. 

Federal investments have helped fund and strengthen our country’s education system for decades — and the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act more fully incorporates state and local efforts to expand early childhood education and the connections that exist between early learning and the K-12 system. It also establishes a new birth-through-5 program, the Preschool Development Grants program, meant to empower states to identify ways to more effectively and efficiently make advances in these areas.

By incorporating the new Preschool Development Grant program into ESSA, Congress affirmed the importance of early learning, beginning at birth, to the law’s goals of advancing equal access to education and the central role of states in leading early childhood coordination, quality, and access efforts. It is also a small but mighty step by the government to support states’ unique and varied early childhood efforts by building upon current federal, state, and local early care and learning investments, as well as increase connections between early learning and K-12 systems within states.

Through their competitive structure, the new grants will put states and communities in the driver’s seat when it comes to leveraging federal, state, and local investments in early learning and care to improve options for parents and children. The collaboration fostered by the grants will ensure resources are used effectively and encourage the sharing of best practices among early learning providers, ultimately leading to an improved continuum of care for young learners.

Read the full article about the Preschool Development Grant program by Sarah Rittling at The 74.