The Kentucky Department of Education has awarded the Clark County Preschool a $300,000 grant.

Principal Kara Davies said KDE announced the funding opportunity for a Preschool Partnership Grant in late July with a focus on implementing or enhancing full-day, high-quality programming for at-risk preschool children in partnership with a local child care provider with children through the Child Care Assistance Program who have at least a three-star rating.

Davies said the preschool has partnered with Bluegrass Children’s Academy at the Winchester-Clark County Bluegrass Community and Technical College to hold a summer Kindergarten Readiness Academy for 80 at-risk students.

The grant will support a full-day six-hour program, and the academy will last for 12 weeks for two summers.

The preschool will also develop four pop-up classrooms to take to childcare centers throughout the community to support early numeracy and early literacy throughout the county. The grant will also support professional development and parent engagement throughout the county.

“Early intervention is vital to child development, and this partnership is aimed at improving childhood education throughout the community,” Davies said.

The $300,000 preschool partnership grant is a two-year great; KDE will release half of the funds for the 2018-19 school year and the remaining half for the 2019-20 school year.

KDE received 107 applications and awarded 53 grants. Only 38 of the awards were for the full $300,000.

“We are very excited about this funding to support early learning in our community,” Davies said.