HEAD START PROGRAMS TO BENEFIT FROM GRANTS

On Friday, December 16th, it is expected that the White House will announce nine states will receive grants totaling $500 million for the sole purpose of getting children ages birth to 5 years ready for kindergarten. 35 states including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, applied for the chance at between $50 million and $100 million in grant money.

The nine states are California, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Washington, for an average of just over $55.5 million per state. The idea is to jump-start improvements in an often overlooked early childhood education program. The money to aid this country's youngest learners is part of the Obama administration's cornerstone education initiative called, "The Race for the Top" grant competition. The idea is for states to compete for federal dollars to create programs that make schools more effective. Although it seems like a lot of money being handed out, last year $4 billion was given for schools focused on K-12 education.

Annually billions are spent on early education programs in America, but the quality and availability of those programs varies. According to Steve Barnett, director of the National Institute for Early Education Research at Rutgers University, roughly 50% of all 3-year-olds and 25% of all 4-year-olds do not attend a preschool.

Kids that have attended "quality" early education programs have shown to do better in school, less likely to be imprisoned and make more money as adults. Children from low-income families who enter kindergarten without the benefit of early childhood education programs are estimated to start school 18 months behind and are likely to struggle to make it up.

In order to be considered, states were asked to demonstrate a willingness to commit to making programs more accessible, coordinated and more effective. Obama announced last month that new rules would require lower-performing Head Start programs were to compete for the funding. A proposal by the Education Department, if accepted, would create a new office to oversee the grants and assist in the coordination of the early learning programs.