Today, the Mississippi State Board of Education awarded $4,725,000 in grants to five school districts to implement new State Invested Pre-K (SIP) programs.
The purpose of these grants is to provide funding to support high-quality pre-K programs for 4-year-old children in districts that are not part of the Mississippi Department of Education’s (MDE) Early Learning Collaborative program. SIP programs expand MDE’s offering of high-quality pre-K programs.
Nineteen SIP programs have been implemented since August 2023 serving 1,820 students in 91 classrooms. The new SIPs will serve up to 300 students in 15 classrooms.
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GRANT AWARDS FOR STATE INVESTED PRE-K GRANT PROGRAM
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District
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Year 1 Grant Award
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Year 2 Grant Award
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Year 3 Grant Award
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Total Grant Amount
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Benton County School District
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$200,000
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$200,000
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$200,000
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$600,000
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Forrest County School District
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$400,000
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$400,000
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$400,000
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$1,200,000
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Moss Point School District
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$300,000
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$300,000
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$300,000
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$900,000
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Neshoba County School District
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$300,000
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$300,000
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$300,000
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$900,000
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Simpson County School District
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$375,000
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$375,000
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$375,000
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$1,125,000
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TOTAL
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$1,575,000
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$1,575,000
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$1,575,000
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$4,725,000
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Like ELCs, the SIP programs will meet all 10 benchmarks established by the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER): use of early learning standards, curriculum support, teacher degree, teacher specialized training, assistant teacher degree, staff professional development, maximum class size, staff-child ratio, screenings and referrals, and a continuous quality improvement system. Partnerships with local childcare centers or Head Start grantees are not a condition for receiving these grants; however, applicants with such partnerships earn extra points in the evaluation process.
The grant period is Aug. 16, 2024 – June 30, 2027. Awarding of the grant each year shall be contingent upon the successful completion of services, a performance evaluation and the availability of funds. Additional SIP funding opportunities will be available in spring 2025.
Find all MDE news releases at mdek12.org/news.
