State Board awards five school districts $4.7M in grants to implement State Invested Pre-K programs
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release: August 15, 2024
State Board awards five school districts $4.7M in grants to implement State Invested Pre-K programs
JACKSON, Miss. – Today, the Mississippi State Board of Education awarded $4,725,000 in grants to five school districts to implement new State Invested Pre-K (SIP) programs.
The purpose of these grants is to provide funding to support high-quality pre-K programs for 4-year-old children in districts that are not part of the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Early Learning Collaborative program. SIP programs expand MDE’s offering of high-quality pre-K programs.
Nineteen SIP programs have been implemented since August 2023 serving 1,820 students in 91 classrooms. The new SIPs will serve up to 300 students in 15 classrooms.
![grants to implement State Invested Pre-K programs](https://www.mdek12.org/sites/default/files/inline-images/news20240815-4.png)
Like ELCs, the SIP programs will meet all 10 benchmarks established by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER): use of early learning standards, curriculum support, teacher degree, teacher specialized training, assistant teacher degree, staff professional development, maximum class size, staff-child ratio, screenings and referrals, and a continuous quality improvement system. Partnerships with local childcare centers or Head Start grantees are not a condition for receiving these grants; however, applicants with such partnerships earn extra points in the evaluation process.
The grant period is Aug. 16, 2024 – June 30, 2027. Awarding of the grant each year shall be contingent upon the successful completion of services, a performance evaluation and the availability of funds. Additional SIP funding opportunities will be available in spring 2025.
Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.
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