Butte and Anaconda are among 16 Montana communities that will share in a $10 million grant to boost preschool programs.
The federal grant is aimed at 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families.
Gov. Steve Bullock and Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau announced the allocation on Wednesday.
School districts in Butte and Anaconda will start receiving money next fall, said Mike Wessler, deputy communications director for Gov. Bullock. But how much they’ll get hasn’t been released.
“At this point, we don’t have specific amounts that each community will receive,” Wessler told The Montana Standard on Wednesday. “We will work that out in coming weeks and months.”
Judy Jonart, Butte school district superintendent, said the program will help enhance professional teacher development and allow scholarships for early-childhood educators.
It will also build the early-childhood work force by ensuring high accreditation and licensure standards required by the state, she said.
Butte and Anaconda qualified because both districts have already implemented the Striving Readers Program, which provides more teaching support for students struggling with reading skills.