Matsui Statement on California Receiving Over $50 Million in Race to the Top Funds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, December 15, 2011
CONTACT: ALANA JUTEAU
(202) 225-7163
Matsui Statement on California Receiving Over $50 Million in Race to the Top Funds
Today, the White House announced the awarding of $52,572,935 in Race to the Top - Early Learning Challenge funds to California. The Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge funds will support California's work to develop new approaches to improving early learning. The fund is jointly administered by the Department of Education and the Department of Health and Human Services, and investments will impact all early learning programs, including Head Start, childcare, and public and private preschools.
Congresswoman Doris Matsui (CA-05), who had joined her California Democratic colleagues in sending a letter to the Administration requesting that California receive these funds, released the following statement on the news:
"I am extremely pleased that California has been chosen as one of the first recipients of Early Learning Challenge funds. This grant will help early learning programs in the Sacramento region and across the state build upon their successes and raise the bar. As a result, we will begin to close the school readiness gap and our teachers will be able to spend more time introducing our students to new material, rather than catching them up.
"Education is essential to our goals of competing in a global marketplace, and it is incredibly important that our children begin their educational careers on a strong foundation. We must work to do everything we can to prepare our students for the future, including expanding the capabilities of early childhood education. Ultimately, this will help to set our children on a path to success even before they enter school, and offer new opportunities to Sacramento students and families.
"I look forward to working with local and state officials to see that California andlsquo;races to the top' of early learning."
###