05-02-2025
Siouxland schools receive part of $600K of grants for child care education credit
DES MOINES (KCAU) — Two Siouxland schools are part of nine in Iowa that will receive a total of nearly $600,000 in grants for educating students in family and consumer science programs while also getting credit.
The Iowa Department of Education awarded the Credential to Child Care Careers grants Tuesday. The nine schools to receive the grants are as follows:
Central Lyon Community School District
Charles City Community School District
Clear Creek Amana Community School District
Des Moines Public Schools
Harlan Community School District
Iowa City Community School District
Le Mars Community School District
Marshalltown Community School District
Woodbine Community School District
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The grants help communities in achieving expanded access to child care while also supporting high school students in earning a Child Development Associate credential, per a release. The credential is nationally recognized and awarded by the Council for Professional Recognition. It requires coursework, field experience, and an assessment where the student is observed working with children.
'Parents need a child care solution that meets the demands of their busy lives and we need to grow and support strong local solutions,' Gov. Kim Reynolds said in a statement. 'I commend each of these nine district awardees for their forward-looking approach to prepare young Iowans to be career ready upon graduation, while also supporting local businesses in building their workforce pipeline.'
School district awardees will receive curriculum that meets both requirements by Iowa Health and Human Services for employees of Iowa-licensed child care centers and the classroom requirements for a CDA credential. The school districts can also used the grants to cover related costs.
The grants come after a successful pilot program last summer during the 2024-2025 and 2025-2026 school years. Those schools included Council Bluffs, MMCRU, Sioux Central, Starmont, and Woodbine school districts.
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'Informed by the success of these programs last fall, we opened this opportunity statewide to support more school districts in strengthening pathways to in-demand child development careers for students while supporting working families,' said Iowa Department of Education Director McKenzie Snow in a statement.
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