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Apple Valley, MN -- The McKnight Foundation donated $25,000 to support the School Readiness program offered by Early Childhood Family Services in Independent School District 196. McKnight awarded the gift to the Foundation for Early Childhood Family Services, ISD 196, a not-for-profit organization with the mission to ensure the long-term stability of ECFS and its programs.
The ECFS School Readiness program is an early-intervention tool for immigrant and at-risk families in ISD 196 and is also in high demand. Immigrant and economically-challenged families are given the opportunity to provide their children with a pre-school experience prior to starting kindergarten. It’s a chance to involve the at-risk community with the education process and school system, and allows any developmental concerns or issues to surface before the child is submerged into mainstream grade school.
“Programs such as these pay huge dividends in community investment,” said Kelly O’Rourke Johns, Chair of the Foundation for Early Childhood Family Services, ISD 196. “Immigrant and at-risk families get the support they need at a crucial stage, and families are encouraged to become active, involved members of society. The McKnight Foundation, and so many other organizations we’ve worked with, recognize the importance of early childhood and family education. We really feel honored to partner with them on our School Readiness program.”
The program’s budget has been drastically cut by the state over the past two years. The McKnight award will specifically support the School Readiness program at Cedar Knolls in Apple Valley, which represents a particularly at-risk sector.
The Foundation for Early Childhood Family Services, ISD 196 also was awarded a “Ready 4K” grant of $3,500. A statewide advocacy campaign aimed at ensuring that all children are ready for kindergarten, Ready 4K builds grassroots support through local clusters of active citizens. The grant will fund an ISD 196 Candidate Forum to promote early childhood issues, and help support an ongoing advocacy campaign.
Local Collaborative Time Study (LCTS) funds administered through the ISD 196 Family Services Collaborative of $10,000 were awarded directly to ECFS to support its School Readiness program.
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