A local private school has gotten a state grant to expand its preschool program.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration awarded Children’s Cottage Academy in Greenwood $181,915 to add four new classrooms for its pre-kindergarten students and increase pre-kindergarten teacher salaries.
Aside from remodeling the rooms, no major construction is needed as the rooms that will be used are currently vacant.
Children’s Cottage was one of 12 grant recipients out of 32 applicants that received a total of $1.4 million from the state.
State education leaders have been focusing on improving early learning. Pre-kindergarten education is one of Gov. Eric Holcomb’s pillars in the upcoming legislative session, Family and Social Services Administration Deputy Director Marni Lemons said.
“Research shows the human brain develops significantly before the age of five,” Lemons said. “The earlier that education can intervene, the more successful the entire education for children would be.”
Lemons said that information has led to an increase in demand for pre-kindergarten from parents.
Children’s Cottage Academy, a new private school in Greenwood and a sister school, is in its first year, serves ages 2 to 12, and currently has six classrooms with a total of 35 students, according to Principal Ann Derheimer.
For the 2019-2020 school year, the school is looking to enroll 48 new pre-kindergarten students along with other aged children. The grant, however, is solely for the benefit of the preschool classrooms.
In addition to classroom additions and teacher salary increases, with the grant the school will also be adding multimedia systems for classrooms along with an improved system of communication between teachers and parents.
