Preschool Development Grants
The Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program is a $250 million discretionary grant competition jointly administered by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health & Human Services. The PDG is designed to strengthen state and local efforts to build, develop and expand high-quality preschool programs so that more children from low- and moderate-income families enter kindergarten ready to succeed in school.
New Report
The Departments of Health and Human Services and Education released a national report and 18 state progress reports on the PDG program. The reports detail how states are meeting the high-quality standards and improving access to early learning for at-risk children. Classrooms improved by supporting well-qualified and compensated teachers, expanding to full-day, reducing class size or child-teacher ratios, providing evidence-based professional development, and providing comprehensive services.
See the PDG report here.
See the PDG state reports here.
PDG-Development Grant Overview
The PDG-Development Grant will aid states with either small or no state preschool programs. The grants will help:
- Develop or enhance state preschool program infrastructure; and
- Reach and serve additional eligible children in one or more high-need communities.
PDG-Expansion Grant Overview
The PDG-Expansion Grant will support states that already have robust state preschool programs or have been awarded a Race to the Top–Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) Grant. These grants will help:
- Enhance state preschool program infrastructure and quality; and
- Reach and serve additional eligible children in two or more high-need communities.
PDG Awardees
Eighteen states received grants, totaling more than $226 million, under the Preschool Development Grants program.
Development Grants (Year One)
- Alabama: $17,500,000
- Arizona: $20,000,000
- Hawaii: $2,074,059
- Montana: $10,000,000
- Nevada: $6,405,860
Expansion Grants (Year One)
RTT-ELC States
- Illinois: $20,000,000
- Maryland: $15,000,000
- Massachusetts: $15,000,000
- New Jersey: $17,498,115
- Rhode Island: $2,290,840
- Vermont: $7,231,681
Non RTT-ELC States (Year One)
- Arkansas: $14,993,000
- Connecticut: $12,499,000
- Louisiana: $2,437,982
- Maine: $3,497,319
- New York: $24,991,372
- Tennessee: $17,500,000
- Virginia: $17,500,000
