Leeward keiki will benefit from a special federal partnership grant awarded to Parents And Children Together (PACT) and Kama‘aina Kids.<\/p>\n
The Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership will fund a collaboration between the two local organizations in order to provide early-education learning opportunities for Leeward infants and toddlers.<\/p>\n
PACT was awarded the grant last December at the White House Summit on Early Education, which supports President Barack Obama’s mission to expand access to high-quality early-education opportunities across the United States.<\/p>\n
“There is a huge need for early childhood education in Hawaii,” said PACT CEO Ryan Kusumoto. “PACT and Kama‘aina Kids will provide comprehensive early childhood education services for low-income parents and children, and children with special needs.”<\/p>\n
PACT’s partnership with Kama‘aina Kids is something Kusumoto is excited about.<\/p>\n
“Kama‘aina Kids is a well-established early-childhood education provider in the state,” he continued. “They have a proven track record of success, and the formation of this type of partnership can only strengthen early-childhood programs.”<\/p>\n
Many families on the Leeward side of Oahu cannot afford early childhood education. This grant will allow for 80 children up to 3 years old, whose families meet the income eligibility requirements, to benefit from the Early Head Start curriculum.<\/p>\n
The curriculum promotes cognitive and language development, social and emotional development, and engaging the child’s life-long learning foundations.<\/p>\n
The partnership’s end goal is to lay a good foundation for West Oahu’s at-risk children so they can succeed.<\/p>\n