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Raimondo Urges Continued Increases in Early Childhood Education Budget

Visits Woonsocket Pre-kindergarten Program to Highlight Importance of Education Investments

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Governor Gina M. Raimondo visited the Woonsocket Head Start Child Development Association classrooms to urge legislative leaders to approve her FY 2017 budget, which includes $5.2 million for early learning.

With this funding, the Rhode Island Pre-kindergarten Program will add 12 sites this fall. This expansion will bring the total number of sites to 29, serving more than 1,000 children in 11 communities: Central Falls, Cranston, East Providence, Johnston, Newport, North Providence, Pawtucket, Providence, Warwick, West Warwick, and Woonsocket.

"Helping our kids build skills that matter for jobs that pay doesn't begin in high school," Raimondo said. "That's why my administration has made huge investments in high-quality early learning. These pre-kindergarten programs are getting kids ready for success in school and are changing the lives of families."

This program, overseen by the R.I. Department of Education (RIDE), provides free, high-quality pre-kindergarten classes to children who are 4 years old by September 1 and are residents of one of the identified communities.

RIDE and all of the program sites are accepting applications through July 1. The programs offer high-quality pre-kindergarten classes at no cost to families. Admission is by lottery among eligible applicants. For details, please visit RIDE's Pre-K Lottery website or read about the plan to open more classrooms and increase access for families here.

Pending approval of Governor Raimondo's budget and thanks to the federal Preschool Expansion Grant that Rhode Island received from the U.S. Department of Education, pre-kindergarten program sites for the coming school year (2016-17) are:

Central Falls:

Central Falls School District, Capt. Hunt Early Learning Center (12 Kendall Street) - 4 classrooms

Cranston:

Comprehensive Community Action Program (848 Atwood Ave.) - 2 classrooms

New: The Children's Workshop (546 Budlong Road) - 1 classroom

East Providence:

New: Martin Middle School (111 Brown Street) - 5 classrooms

New: Oldham School (60 Bart Drive) - 2 classrooms (Note: Applications for the Martin and Oldham sites are available at the East

Providence Administration Offices, 145 Taunton Ave.)

East Bay Community Action Program (70 Turner Ave.) - 1 classroom

Johnston:

New: Graniteville School (6 Collins Avenue) (Note: Applications for the Graniteville site are available at Graniteville School until June 17 and at the Johnston Central Office, 10 Memorial Dr., throughout the application period.)

Newport:

East Bay Community Action Program at the Pell Annex of the John F. Kennedy School (740 West Main Rd., Middletown - temporary location; program will be for Newport residents only) - 1 classroom

East Bay Community Action Program Head Start (8 John Chafee Blvd.) - 2 classrooms

North Providence:

New: Tri-Town Community Action Agency (2204 Mineral Spring Avenue) - 1 classroom

Pawtucket:

New: Pawtucket School Department, Fallon Memorial School (62 Lincoln Avenue) - 2 classrooms (Note: Applications for the Fallon site are available at the Pawtucket Central Office, 286 Main St.)

Ready to Learn Providence @ Heritage Park YMCA Early Learning Center (333 Roosevelt Ave.) - 2 classrooms

New: Children's Friend and Service (13 Legion Drive) - 1 classroom

Providence:

New: Providence School Department, Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary School (35 Camp Street) - 1 classroom (Note: Applications for the Martin Luther King , Jr. site are available at the Providence Registration Center, 325 Ocean Street.)

Ready to Learn Providence @ CCRI Liston Campus (1 Hilton St.) - 1 classroom (Note: Applications for the CCRI site are available at 945 Westminster St., Providence)

Beautiful Beginnings (700 Elmwood Ave.) - 2 classrooms

Children's Friend and Service (350 Point St.) - 2 classrooms

Children's Friend and Service (99 Berkshire St.) - 1 classroom

New: Children's Friend and Service (550 Hartford Avenue) - 1 classroom

New: Imagine Preschool (520 Hope Street) - 3 classrooms

The Mariposa Center (1 Corliss Park) - 1 classroom

Meeting Street (1000 Eddy St.) - 2 classrooms

Smith Hill Early Childhood Learning Center (25 Danforth St.) - 4 classrooms

Warwick:

CHILD, Inc. (160 Draper Ave.) - 2 classrooms

West Warwick:

New: Academy for Little Children (10 James P Murphy Industrial Highway) - 1 classroom

CHILD, Inc. (28 Payan St.) - 3 classrooms

Woonsocket:

Connecting for Children and Families (46 Hope St.) - 2 classrooms

Woonsocket Head Start Child Development Association (204 Warwick St.) - 4 classrooms

New: YWCA Rhode Island (514 Blackstone Street), 1 Classroom

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