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Gov. Phil Murphy announced the award during Monday's COVID-19 briefing, noting the state was granted the funds following a competitive application process.
"Every dollar we invest in early education is repaid many times over throughout a child’s life," the governor said. "Pre-K is an all-around win-win."
School districts that were eligible to receive the award included those that had previously received partial state funding to address pockets of poverty or are based in communities that have at least 20 percent of their student population receiving free or reduced price lunch.
Those districts are:
- Atlantic County, Egg Harbor Township School District $2,835,866
- Bergen County, North Arlington School District, $560,208
- Bergen County, Fairview Public Schools, $2,126,751
- Burlington County, Lumberton School District, $345,072
- Camden County, Clementon School District, $302,242
- Hunterdon County, Hampton School District, $338,675
- Monmouth County, Matawan-Aberdeen Regional, $1,574,034
- Ocean County, Seaside Heights School District, $482,095
- Salem County, Quinton Township School District, $349,506
- Somerset County, Manville School District, $1,085,550
“In concert with prevailing early childhood research, we recognize that providing our youngest learners with high-quality early education will have long-lasting benefits to the children served, their families, and the communities in which they reside,” said Dr. Angelica Allen-McMillan, Acting Commissioner of Education.
“Therefore, we are ecstatic that the Governor has made high-quality early childhood education a priority again this year. We are extremely excited to work with the 10 school districts awarded these funds to increase the number of children they serve, expand the length of their program day, and anchor their services in research-based practices.”
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