Grant Funding Awarded to Five Local Childcare Providers

Congratulations is being given to to four new early childhood education programs and two existing programs that received grant funding from The Oregon Department of Education’s Early Learning Division (ELD) to add additional Preschool Promise slots to their child care programs.

Preschool Promise is a publically-funded program offered by the Early Learning Division that provides free, high-quality preschool to Oregon families with children ages 3-4 living at or below 200 percent of the Federal Poverty Level. 

Preschool Promise programs operate from various settings that include child care centers, homes, culturally specific programs, Head Start programs, school districts, educational service districts, and community-based organizations to best align with families' needs and preferences.

In addition to providing grant funding opportunities, the Early Learning Division also offers support to local child care providers through statewide Child Care Resource and Referral Services (CCR&R). Your local CCR&R, Child Care Partners, offers professional development, financial support, materials, and other forms of assistance for new and existing child care providers. Child Care Partners' local office is located on The Dalles campus of Columbia Gorge Community College, you may contact them via phone at: 541-506-6131 or via email at: ccp@cgcc.edu.

 Congratulations to these newest grant recipients:

• Ana Rivera’s Bilingual Preschool and Child Care, a home-based program in The Dalles received 10 slots

• Petersburg Preschool, a center-based program through the Columbia Gorge ESD in The Dalles received 18 additional slots plus 12 more slots through Mid-Columbia Children’s Council.

• Mid-Columbia Children’s Council (MCCC) a center-based program at Mid Valley Elementary School in Hood River received 12 additional slots and Westside Elementary received 12 slots

• Kiddie City, a center-based program in Parkdale received 10 slots

• Little Minnows Preschool within the South Wasco County School District in Maupin received 10 slots

Together, these grant recipients will be able to provide 84 additional preschool slots for families. They will also join the existing network of local network of early childhood education programs:

• Playful Learning, home-based, The Dalles

• YoYo’s Child Day Care, home-based, The Dalles

• Sunshine Kids Bilingue, Columbia Gorge ESD, The Dalles

• Oregon Child Development Coalition (OCDC), center-based, The Dalles

• Mid-Columbia Children’s Council (MCCC), center-based, Hood River (multiple locations) and The Dalles

• Fossil Preschool, North Central Education Service District (NCESD), Fossil, OR

• Spray Preschool, North Central Education Service District (NCESD), Spray, OR

• Umatilla-Morrow Headstart, Condon Early Learning Center, center-based, Condon, OR

Four Rivers Early Learning Hub, located at Columbia Gorge ESD in The Dalles, is supporting the new and existing providers and processing applications to deem families eligible to be able to utilize these slots. 

“Our community is absolutely overjoyed that these businesses have taken steps to open their homes and centers to provide for families that work, live, and thrive here,” says Shira Skybinskyy, Interim Director of Four Rivers Early Learning Hub. 

Shira Skybinskyy, Interim Director of Four Rivers Early Learning Hub.

If you are a parent in Gilliam, Wheeler, Sherman, Wasco or Hood River Counties, who is interested in applying to Preschool Promise, please reach out to Four Rivers Early Learning Hub, Silautua Brookover at sbrookover@cgesd.k12.or.us.