Mass. Seeks $50M In Federal Education Grants

Massachusetts education officials are hoping to receive up to $50 million in federal grants designed to help young children get a head start for school, especially in language skills.

Education Secretary Paul Reville said the state submitted its application Wednesday for the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, a $500 million national competition sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.

Reville said the goal is to help make sure that all children, particularly high-needs children, have access to quality pre-kindergarten education that will put them on an early path to success.

The Massachusetts proposal would create English language development standards from birth to 5 years, promote healthy child development from preschool through grade 3 and develop a common tool for assessing children in kindergarten.

"In some instances we would be able to do some things that of course we wouldn't be able to do — support more programs, validate a system, provide more training, develop more standards — those things we wouldn't be able to do without these additional resources," said Early Education Commissioner Sherri Killins.

With reporting by The Associated Press and the WBUR Newsroom