Vermont has received a $36.9 million federal grant for early childhood education programs.
The state’s successful application for the Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge grant was announced during a related news conference Thursday in Montpelier.
“We know when we invest early, we achieve the results that we have been missing in terms of moving more people beyond high school, we know that we get better outcomes, we know that we save money,” Gov. Peter Shumlin said.
There will be a news conference Monday to discuss the details of the grant, he said.
The Race-to-the-Top Early Learning Challenge is designed to help states fund early childhood learning programs that increase enrollment for low-income and disadvantaged children, enhance the quality of these programs and develop assessment standards that conform with federal recommendations.
The five other states sharing the combined $280 million federal grant are Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. The grant is issued by the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.