Congresswoman Duckworth Announces Early Learning Race to the Top Grant for Illinois

Press Release

Today, Congresswoman Duckworth announced a $17.6 million federal grant for education: Early Learning Race to the Top. This grant will improve quality and expand access to early learning programs throughout the state of Illinois. It will also improve early learning by coordinating existing programs, evaluating and rating program quality and increasing access to high-quality programs, particularly for children with high needs.

In Illinois, the funding will strengthen the state's early learning infrastructure for children - from birth to age five - with a focus on children from low-income families. The plans include work to:

· Create a new Quality Rating and Improvement System, ExceleRate Illinois, that will inform parents about program quality and guide program improvement efforts;

· Strengthen training and support for early learning personnel; and

· Align all early care and education programs -- including Child Care, Head Start and Preschool for All -- with high-quality early learning and development standards.

"It's critical that we provide local educators with the resources they need to help our communities grow," Duckworth said. "This grant will improve our education system and contribute to the success of our children, and children of future generations. The taxpayers of Illinois contribute more than their fair share to the Federal government and I am pleased to see that resources are coming back to the 8th Congressional District to help our local municipalities."

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