Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge Grant

The purpose of these grants is to close the achievement gap for low-income children and ensure that all kids enter kindergarten ready to learn. Administered by the U.S. departments of Education and Health and Human Services, the grants aim to increase the number of low-income infants, toddlers and preschoolers enrolled in high-quality early learning programs. In addition, the grants would be used to create integrated systems throughout the state that promote quality early care and education programs for all children. These systems would focus on the whole child, including social and emotional development. Recipient states would be required to create a Quality Rating Improvement System. This system would be used to evaluate out-of-home early learning and care settings throughout the state.

According to a Massachusetts Institute of Technology study, investment in early care and education settings pay off both in the short and long term. In the short term, these investments result in the purchase of goods and more jobs in the economy. In the long term, children who receive quality early education are less likely to need special education courses and are more likely to graduate from high school and be employed over their lifetime. These individuals are also less likely to rely on public assistance or end up involved in the justice system.

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