WARWICK, RI - Congressman Jim Langevin and Ready to Learn Providence, a program of The Providence Plan, will announce a $3.9 million Early Reading First grant from the U.S. Department of Education on Tuesday, September 29, in Providence. This grant will assist five early-care programs in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls to develop approaches that will improve a child’s readiness for kindergarten and the school years beyond.

Ready to Learn Providence (R2LP) is one of just 28 nonprofit organizations and school districts nationwide, from a pool of 450 applicants, to receive an Early Reading First (ERF) grant this year, their third since 2004. 

“Ready to Learn Providence should be commended for their tremendous effort in securing this Early Reading First grant, which reflects the high priority this Congress has placed on ensuring that all children have the preparation and skills they need on their very first day of school,” said Langevin. “Reaching children as early as possible and engaging them in reading is key to making them life long learners, and I look forward to following the progress of this program and building on their success.”

“Our five partner sites are all strong early childhood programs,” said Leslie Gell, director of Ready to Learn Providence. “They have leaders who are powerful advocates for children and families, and classroom staff who are passionate about their work with young children. With these grant resources, we will have a tremendous opportunity to build upon the strong foundations that exist in these programs.”

Heritage Park YMCA Early Learning Center and Pawtucket Day Child Development Center in Pawtucket, along with Progreso Latino and Children’s Friend Child Care Program in Central Falls and Roger Williams Day Care Center in Providence will benefit from this grant. These centers, over a three-year period, will receive college-level training and intensive on-site mentoring to strengthen instruction, improve teacher-child interactions and create environments that support early language and literacy development. Funding from the grant also provides the participating centers with hundreds of children’s books and classroom materials.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009 10:30 – 11 a.m.

Ready to Learn Providence
945 Westminster Street
 Providence, RI 02903

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