Idaho receives $6 million preschool development grant

Idaho has received a three-year federal grant that will provide nearly $6 million annually to support early childhood learning in the state.

The renewal grant announced Tuesday builds on a $3.3 million grant awarded in late 2019 that was used to complete a statewide needs assessment on early childhood education in the state. The money will be used to strengthen children’s language and literacy skills through local efforts prior to the start of kindergarten.

“Every community throughout Idaho is unique, and the approach to investing in early learning must meet the needs of all Idahoans,” said Beth Oppenheimer, the executive director of the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children, in a news release. “By understanding the different choices and options that work for our families, we are better positioned to improve early learning outcomes and options that best fit each individual community’s needs.”

At an Idaho State Board of Education meeting in December, Oppenheimer said the needs assessment showed parents lack an understanding of what is needed for young children to be school ready. She stated parents don’t know where to access resources and information for their children in Idaho, which is one of the few states that does not fund preschool programs.

The grant will be used to get more information to parents and will also be used to teach child care providers the skills needed to prepare kids for school on social-emotional and academic levels.

Oppenheimer indicated the grant doesn’t need to be used to build a preschool program in the state, but it can instead focus on creating a better system to prepare kids for school.

The initial grant allowed 15 local collaboratives to launch across the state. Lewis-Clark State College’s KinderCollege and the Kendrick-Juliaetta School District were included in those collaboratives as they launched “Preschool the Idaho Way” to create solutions through partnerships and shared resources to address the lack of early childhood development opportunities in the region.

The new funding will allow the collaboratives to expand to 20 statewide, Oppenheimer previously said.

“Our goal at the end of the three years is to (have) the ability to look at all the systems and programs serving birth to five and coordinate and connect them better,” Oppenheimer said. “Also, a big piece of this is we’ll be looking at transitions from early childhood programs to our K-12 system. What we know in the majority of our communities is that programs that are serving early childhood are not connected to our K-12 system, which is really important.”

Gov. Brad Little has prioritized early literacy since taking office in January 2019. The grant will help build on those efforts.

“Literacy continues to be my top priority in education and this resource ensures our youngest children have improved opportunities to stay on track with their reading so they are ready for school,” said Little in the release.

The grant will be implemented this month.

State Board President Debbie Critchfield said the board will partner with the Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children to develop a high-quality early childhood care and education system in the state.

“Early childhood literacy is a priority area of concern and focus for the State Board of Education,” Critchfield said in the release. “This federal grant is an opportunity to fortify local communities with resources to help families prepare their children to be ready to learn.”

Justyna Tomtas may be reached at jtomtas@lmtribune.com or at (208) 848-2294. Follow her on Twitter @jtomtas.