Veronica Garabelli //December 10, 2014//
Veronica Garabelli // December 10, 2014//
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.