Beaver, Lawrence, Allegheny counties receive funding for early education programs

Nicholas Vercilla, Beaver County Times
·2 min read
The office of Gov. Tom Wolf announced more than $384 million in grant funding for early childhood education, which will help Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs in Beaver, Lawrence, and Allegheny Counties.
The office of Gov. Tom Wolf announced more than $384 million in grant funding for early childhood education, which will help Pre-K Counts and Head Start programs in Beaver, Lawrence, and Allegheny Counties.

HARRISBURG − The office of Gov. Tom Wolf announced more than $384 million in grant funding for early childhood education, allowing more children to gain access to high-quality early learning programs through Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts and the Head Start Supplemental Assistance Program (HSSAP).

The funding was made available through the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL).

Pre-K counts grants

Pre-K counts provides high-quality pre-kindergarten services to at-risk children at ages 3 and 4, at no cost to families, and is offered in school districts, Keystone STARS 3 and 4 child care programs, Head Start programs, and licensed nursery schools.

The grant funding will increase the number of available Pre-K count slots.

In Beaver County, the Aliquippa School District was awarded $400,000, and Chippewa's Noah's Ark LLC was awarded $170,000.

In Allegheny County, the Allegheny Intermediate Unit was awarded $170,000, the Allegheny Valley School District was awarded $150,000, Cynthia K. Franck's Child Care, Inc. was awarded $200,000, Highlands School District was awarded $510,000, Hosanna House Inc/Weci was awarded $250,000, Kids Kademy II LLC was awarded $300,000, Maple Unified Student Academy Inc. was awarded $170,000, PIC of Westmoreland/Fayette Inc., which serves Allegheny County, was awarded $640,000, the Pittsburgh Public Schools was awarded $300,000, and Thomas Child Care and Learning Academy was awarded $50,000.

In Lawrence County, Lawrence County Social Services, Inc. was awarded $400,000, Pre-K Kids Learning Center Inc. was awarded $200,000, and TROB Enterprises LLC was awarded $200,000.

HSSAP grants

HSSAP grants look to provide funding for Head Start programs that serve children at ages 3 and 4, living at or below 100% of the federal poverty level. The programs provide comprehensive education, health, nutrition, and parent involvement services aligned to the federal program requirements.

For Beaver County, the Private Industry Council, which serves both Beaver and Fayette counties, was awarded $925,900, which will allow for 20 more children in Beaver County to attend Head Start.

Allegheny County was awarded $3.17 million, which will allow for 264 more children in Head Start, with the Pittsburgh Public Schools receiving $2.56 million, which will allow for 231 more children in Head Start.

Lawrence County Social Services was awarded $2.21 million, which will allow for 115 more children in Head Start.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Western PA counties receive state funding for early education programs