NEW ROSS — Early Learning Indiana awarded a $20,000 grant to Little Mountie Preschool as part of the $15 million Come Back Stronger Fund, supported by Lilly Endowment, to reinforce Indiana’s supply of high-quality early learning opportunities, especially for the state’s most vulnerable children.
Little Mountie Preschool will use the grant funds to support safety-related expenses and challenges as it continues to serve families in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
“The health and safety of our children, families and staff is our top priority,” said preschool director Eric Brewer. “In order for our community to come back stronger from the pandemic, high-quality child care is extremely important, and we’re committed to supporting families who need child care by providing a safe and educational environment.”
Because of social distancing and safety protocols, the preschool will utilize the financial resources provided by Early Leaning Indiana to come back stronger from the pandemic. Funding will be used for training of safety protocols, investment in disinfecting equipment and supplies as well as providing personnel to assist in sanitizing our classrooms and school buses.
“The pandemic has shone a light on the critical role early care and education providers play in our society,” said Early Learning Indiana President and CEO Maureen Weber. “Families need quality child care in order to go back to work, and children need safe and engaging environments to grow and learn. We’re grateful to Little Mountie Preschool’s commitment to providing high-quality child care, and we’re excited to see what they and the other 154 providers do with their Come Back Stronger Fund grants.”
Early Learning Indiana awarded a total of $2,341,000 to 155 providers in this first round of grant awards. Little Mountie Preschool was required to submit a narrative on how it would use the grant funds and serve children from vulnerable populations, as well as meet the following criteria:
• Be a licensed and registered center, ministry or family child care home provider in Indiana in good standing
• Be an approved Child Care and Development Fund or On My Way Pre-K provider or a provider that otherwise serves children from vulnerable family populations, defined as households at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level
• Operate as a Paths to QUALITY™ Level 3 or 4, or as a Paths to QUALITY™ Level 2 with a demonstrated commitment to achieving a higher level of program quality
• Serve children ages 0-5
Early child care organizations can still apply for a Come Back Stronger Fund grant at www.earlylearningin.org/comebackstronger.
