Beverly, Peabody Child Care Facilities Awarded $750K In State Grants

PEABODY, MA — Early childcare facilities in Beverly and Peabody were among 20 organizations sharing in $8.5 million in state grants for programs that serve primarily low-income families.

Angela's Preschool and Daycare of Peabody and Pathways for Children were awarded the Healey-Driscoll Administration grants. totaling $746,000.

"Making early education and care more affordable and accessible is a top priority for our administration," Gov. Maura Healey said. "Capital investments are an important part of that. These capital grants give our hardworking child care programs the financial resources they need to provide modern, healthy, and safe environments for our kids to learn and play.

"This funding also helps us make progress on our climate goals, which is essential for ensuring our kids have secure futures."

Angela's Preschool and Daycare of Peabody was awarded $500,000 to help fund improvements to the security system, replacement of windows and heating, ventilation and air conditioning, as well as kitchen ventilation and upgraded bathroom fixtures.

Pathways for Children of Beverly was awarded $246,000 to support redesigning the playground to maximize natural play, accessibility, inclusiveness, cooperative engagement as well as learning and discovery.

"These funds improve programs' energy efficiency, ventilation and water conservation, accessibility for families and educators, add new security measures, update outdoor play areas, and so much more," Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll said.

For the first time, for-profit childcare centers and out-of-school programs that serve at least 50 percent of children who receive public benefits were eligible. Programs are eligible to receive between $200,000 and $500,000 in funding.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)