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Administration for Children and Families US Department of Health and Human Services

 HHS News

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, September 25, 2003
Contact: ACF Press Office (202) 401-9215

HHS Awards $3.2 Million To Educate Head Start Teachers

The Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families today announced the award of grants to 22 institutions of higher learning to enhance the education of Head Start teachers. The grants total $3.2 million for five years.

“Head Start children benefit when their teachers get the best possible education,” HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson said. “These grants are especially important because they will help previously underserved groups receive education that will lead to excellence in Head Start classrooms across the country.”

The awardees are Tribally Controlled Land Grant Colleges and Universities (8 grants; $1,190,700), Hispanic-Serving Institutions (8 grants; $1,150,740), and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (6 grants; $898,000).

All of the grantees will use their funds to help Head Start teaching staff complete course work for a two or four year degree in Early Childhood Education. Each group will work with Head Start and Early Head Start programs serving its target population to develop culturally appropriate models for teacher training. For example, the Tribally Controlled colleges will work with local Tribal Head Start programs that serve Native American children and families; the Hispanic Serving Institutions will collaborate with Head Start and Migrant Head Start programs serving Latino children and families, and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities will work with Head Start programs that serve African-Americans.

“These grants are part of our effort to assure a high quality educational experience for each Head Start teacher and each Head Start child,” said Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., assistant secretary for children and families. “We recognize that Head Start teachers must not only receive higher education to do their jobs well, but also that their education must be appropriate for the culturally diverse population that Head Start serves.”

The Head Start program, established in 1965, has an annual enrollment of over 900,000 children from birth to age five, and provides a comprehensive array of educational, social, health and child development services.

The list of grantees and the amount of their awards follow:

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

GRANTEE NAME

CITY

ST

AMOUNT OF AWARD

Coppin State College

Baltimore

MD

$ 148,519

H. Council Trenholm State Technical College

Montgomery

AL

$150,000

Howard University

Washington

DC

$ 149,474

University of Maryland-Eastern Shore

Princess Anne

MD

$ 150,000

Delaware State University

Dover

DE

$ 150,000

Tennessee State University

Nashville

TN

$ 150,000

Total Awarded: $898,000         

Hispanic Serving Institutions

GRANTEE NAME

CITY

ST

AMOUNT OF AWARD

Dallas County Community College District

Dallas

TX

$150,000

Central Community College

Grand Island

NE

$148,996

Houston Community College System

Houston

TX

$139,184

Regional Community Technical Colleges

Hartford

CT

$150,000

Ft. Hayes State University

Hays

KS

$149,600

Fort Lewis College

Durango

CO

$150,000

University of Washington

Seattle

WA

$150,000

St. Augustine College

Chicago

IL

$112,960

Total Awarded: $1,150,740          

Tribally Controlled Land Grant Colleges and Universities

APPLICANT NAME

CITY

ST

AMOUNT OF AWARD

Tanka (Big Foot) College

Eagle Butte

SD

$ 149,997

Blackfeet Community College

Browning

MT

$ 150,000

Fort Belknap College

Harlem

MT

$ 150,000

Oglala Lakota College

Kyle

SD

$ 150,000

Stone Child College

Box Elder

MT

$ 150,000

Bay Mills Community College

Brimley

MI

$ 144,620

Fort Peck Community College

Poplar

MT

$ 149,748

College of Menominee Nation

Keshena

WI

$ 147,335

Total Awarded: $1,190,700         

 

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Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at www.hhs.gov/news

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The page was last updated: September 23, 2003