The Town of Seymour will receive a portion of a $47.6 million federal grant awarded to Connecticut to help fund high quality preschool programs.
State Sen. Kelly applauded the hard work of state leaders who secured this grant and the support of the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
“Making preschool available to all children from all income levels is vital to improving our state’s education system and giving children the tools they need to succeed in life,” said Senator Kelly. “This grant is a small step for our local community in a much larger effort that I hope to see grow and flourish until preschool is an option for every child.”
The grant will fund five new expansion spaces for preschool students to be opened in either TEAM, Inc’s Early Education program or Seymour Public Schools.
It will also be used to improve the quality of 13 spaces by raising educational standards and instituting new requirements for teachers and staffing levels. Children from low income families will be eligible for the expanded preschool program and priority will be given to children who are homeless or in foster care.
Seymour is one of 14 communities that will benefit from this funding. The other towns include: Bridgeport, Derby, East Haven, Griswold, Groton, Hamden, Hebron, Killingly, Manchester, Naugatuck, Torrington, Vernon, and Wolcott.
Thirteen out of 27 states that applied for competitive grants to expand high-quality preschool programs were awarded over $170 million in federal funding.
In addition to Connecticut, the states that received funding are Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia.
