By Kevin Lavery, WKAR News
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkar/local-wkar-908931.mp3
Lansing, MI – Three Lansing-area childhood education advocacy groups are joining a national financial services company to make a major investment in early childhood development.
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The PNC Foundation is investing $300,000 in mid-Michigan as part of a 10-year, $100 million national early childhood education project.
The grant will allow Capital Area Head Start, WKAR and the Impression Five Science Center to expand math and science programming targeting children from birth to age five.
"And these are really geared at taking the caregiver; mom, dad, grandma, whomever and the child, and getting them engaged in exploring science content," says Impression Five Science Center executive director Erik Larson." So it could be nature content, it could be mathematics, engineering those things are going to start right now."
The program is expected to serve up to 10,000 children in mid-Michigan this year. Larson says that figure will increase over the next three years as program content is delivered statewide.