The Community Foundation of Howard County has pledged a three-year, $120,000 grant to fund preschool education for needy students in the county.
This grant is in addition to $20,000 already donated by the foundation for preschool education. It will make a lasting impact on community children, said Kokomo-Center Schools Superintendent Jeff Hauswald.
“This amazing grant speaks to the importance of early childhood education, as well as the vital role our community foundation plays in improving the quality of life in Howard County,” Hauswald said.
Hilda Burns, foundation president, said the grant was made possible through the William S. and Susannah B. Hough Youth Fund. The Houghs had an interest in helping people obtain an education and in helping at-risk youth, Burns said.
“Knowing this need would continue beyond their lifetime, they left a generous legacy through the Community Foundation to continue supporting youth and students,” she said. “This community-wide preschool focus is at the heart of the Houghs’ concern, so this is a great match for the fund.”
The grant will allow an additional 40 students to attend preschool for free this year, Kokomo-Center School officials said. Over the next three years, at least 140 children will receive a free preschool education because of the gift.
Kokomo-Center’s director of special programs, Dawn McGrath, said one of the leading indicators for academic success is preschool.
“Research supports the positive impact of preschool on school-readiness and future academic achievement,” McGrath said. “The importance of investing early in the development of our little children is critical to the success of our community. A preschool experience greatly improves the likelihood of high school graduation.”
Hauswald said the community support is important.
“Kokomo-Center Schools continues to recognize the value of preschool education for our entire community, and we are happy to be working with the Community Foundation to expand the number of preschool spots available for free to qualified families in our community,” Hauswald said. “I am confident that this program will have a lifetime of benefits for our community as early childhood education has proven to reduce high school dropouts and decrease long-term societal costs.”
Local News
$120,000 grant will send 140 needy KCS students to preschool
Couple’s fund seeks to help at-risk youth.
- Local News
-
-
Question Time: Dinner for four
We received several dozen very interesting responses Friday when we asked our readers to answer the following question: “If you could have dinner with any three people living or otherwise who would it be and why?” As a result, a few us here at the Kokomo Tribune decided to give it a try as well.
-
Bullying reporting now required
Oliver Jackson — known in the music world as DjBigO317 — remembers being bullied by the kids on his high school football team for being small.
He told his coaches about it, but they brushed it off and told him to do the same.
Now, his 6-year-old daughter is battling issues with bullies at her school in Indianapolis, and he won’t let it go.
He is on a crusade to end bullying, and he’s taking the message beyond his daughter’s school. -
The bully bashers speak out
Nineteen-year-old Trenton Lewis wants to change the message hip-hop music is sending to kids across the country.
The Kokomo High School graduate envisions songs that inspire change and songs that promote safer schools instead of ones that glorify drugs and violence. He wants to push the negativity out of music. - Bullying statistics - May 19, 2013
-
State to spend $2 million to clean up voter rolls
Indiana’s bloated voter registration rolls, which officials say make elections more susceptible to fraud, will soon come under more scrutiny by the state.
- Public Eye - May 19, 2013
-
Fallen comrades remembered
In the 148-year history of the Kokomo Police Department, two officers have died in the line of duty. Members of the department took part in a ceremony Friday to honor not only those two, but all fallen police officers.
-
Local deputies play key role in arrest
A mother and her infant son are now safe, thanks in part to the determination of deputies with the Howard County Sheriff’s Department. The officers worked from the time Kristy Redenbaugh was reported missing in September 2012 until the man police allege was her captor was arrested Thursday.
-
Charter school to open in August
Goodwill Education Initiatives will unveil the area’s first charter school for high school dropouts Aug. 15 in downtown Kokomo.
-
Districts call special board meetings
Northwestern School Corp. will likely reduce the hours of about a dozen instructional assistants to avoid having to provide them with insurance.
- More Local News Headlines
-
Question Time: Dinner for four
Probe Begins After Conn. Commuter Trains Crash
NTSB Begins Investigation Into Conn. Train Crash
Lotto Fever Sweeps the Country
Conn. Commuter Trains Collide; 60 Go to Hospital
Coffee Run Leads to Hatchet Hitchhiker Arrest
Fmr. IRS Head Insists No Politics in Targeting
CDC: Fecal Bacteria Common in Swimming Pools
$1 Million in Jewels Stolen at Cannes Film Fest
NM Mom Chases Down Child Abductor
Raw: Crash Sends Car Into Fla. Pool
Raw: Obama Sits Down With Elementary Kids
Raw: Bear Falls From Tampa Tree
Ousted IRS Chief: Errors Not Caused by Politics
Terror Suspect Due in Court in Idaho Friday
Raw: Driver Ejected From Truck, Over Bridge
Could Tobacco Be the Next Biofuel?
Wash. State Releases Draft Rules for Legal Pot
Dying Man's Blinks Lead to Murder Conviction
Officials: Texas Tornado Likely Had 200 Mph Wind
Brothers Arrested in NOLA Parade Shooting
