Salem Schools Awarded $1 Million Preschool/Pre-K Education Grant

SALEM, MA — A $1 million grant recently awarded to Salem Public Schools will allow the district to bolster preschool and pre-K education through adding two more Salem-based preschool programs to its partner cohort.

The district said Angela's Preschool and Daycare and the Pathways for Children Head Start Program will join current district partners to offer education-based child care options in the city.

The grant will also cover expenses such as boosting salaries in partner programs, hiring behavioral and support staff, professional development, materials and tuition relief for families.

"(The grant) will provide extraordinary resources to accelerate our vision of universal free, quality pre-K education for Salem children," SPS Deputy Superintendent Kate Carbone said. "We've been trying to work across the city of Salem to improve access to quality pre-K education. Part of that is expanding seats and improving the quality of seats."

The grant comes at the end of COVID-era ESSER funding.

Carbone said the grant will also enable the district to analyze the preschool needs of families throughout the community.

"We will be going out into the community to gather more information to guide our work," she said. "We hope to move toward a sustainable model and aspire to partner with all the community-based pre-K organizations."

(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.)