Kansas receives $10,000 grant for early childhood development
Governor’s summit receives support from national group

Governor Kathleen Sebelius’ efforts to improve early childhood development received a boost of support today from the National Governor’s Association’s Center for Best Practices (NGA Center). The NGA Center awarded Kansas a $10,000 grant to support Governor Sebelius’ Summit on Early Childhood, an event to be held in Topeka later this fall.

“The best way to close the achievement gap among children, and especially those from low-income families, is to help all children gain the skills they need at an earlier age,” Sebelius said. “By coordinating efforts throughout the education community, and focusing on what works best, we can make sure that every child enters school ready to learn. This grant will help us reach out to experts across the state; and include their voices in the important conversation on how we can reach this goal.”

Kansas was one of only ten states to receive an NGA Center grant. Other states receiving a grant were: Alaska, Connecticut, Florida, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah and Virginia.

The NGA Center noted that Kansas was selected for Governor Sebelius’ strong commitment to developing a consensus on specific policy recommendations for Kansas’ early childhood agenda; cultivating leadership among business, philanthropy and community stakeholders; building partnerships with the private sector; and strengthening the state’s capacity for decision-making and service delivery at the local level.

All states were invited to apply for the grants, with the exception of states that received an Early Childhood Grant in 2006. The grants are made possible through the generous support of the Buffett Early Childhood Fund and an anonymous foundation. To learn more about governors’ efforts to prepare children for school, visit www.nga.org/center/earlychild.

# # #