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State
receives grant to host early childhood summit
South Dakota is one of 10 states to receive a $10,000 grant to
support a Governor’s Summit on Early Childhood. The grant comes
from the National Governors Association Center for Best
Practices.
NGA Early Childhood Summit grants are intended to help governors
build support for a state early childhood policy agenda that
incorporates the core principles, policy framework and
recommendations of the
NGA Task Force on School Readiness.
“These grants will allow governors to convene their key
stakeholders around state action plans for early childhood
development,” said John Thomasian, director of the NGA Center.
States selected to receive the grant demonstrated strong
gubernatorial commitment and set clear goals, objectives and
measures for action steps to be taken following the summit.
A major component of South Dakota’s 2010 Education Initiative,
Starting Strong, targets early learners. Included in the
initiative are a number of strategies such as mandatory
kindergarten, preschool accreditation and certification
standards, and coordination of preschool services. A preschool
pilot program will begin in Sioux Falls later this year.
Other states to receive grants were Alaska, Connecticut,
Florida, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Utah and Virginia.
A summit date has yet to be determined. Watch for that
announcement in future issues of the Education Online.
For more information, contact Deb Barnett, Department of
Education, at (605) 773-5669.
deb.barnett@state.sd.us.
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