Virginia receives $17.5 million federal preschool expansion grant

Virginia is one of 18 states that has received a $17.5 million federal grant to expand and improve preschool programs in the commonwealth.

According to a news release issued by Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office, the grant will allow Virginia to serve 1,600 additional 4-year-olds in new, high-quality preschool classes. It also will fund enhanced services to approximately 1,400 children in existing pre-kindergarten classrooms.

The grant will support the Virginia Preschool Initiative (VPI) in 11 high-needs school divisions beginning in the 2015-2016 academic year. VPI is a state-funded program that supports preschool programs for approximately 18,000 at-risk 4-year-olds.

The participating school divisions are:

·         Brunswick County
·         Chesterfield County
·         Fairfax County
·         Giles County
·         Henrico County
·         Norfolk
·         Petersburg
·         Prince William County
·         Richmond
·         Sussex County
·         Winchester

The divisions were selected based on poverty, number of Title I schools, percentage of children entering kindergarten below the state’s literacy readiness benchmark and the number of unserved at-risk 4-year-olds.