Murray’s Head Start program is receiving nearly $4 million in grants to extend their school day and increase services for 125 students in west Kentucky.
Director Cindy Graves announced the grants at a recent Murray Independent School District Board meeting. She said the funds are provided by the federal Office of Head Start and include an initial grant of nearly $1.3 million and an annual $2.5 million.
The school district says students from Calloway, Carlisle, Fulton County, Fulton Independent, Hickman County and Murray Independent will have more class instruction because of the grants.
Graves said the primary goal of the grant was to give students a full day of school. "These latest funds are a 71% increase in program operations funding to serve three and four-year-old students in full-day services that provide a minimum of 1,020 hours of school attendance," she said.
The funds will cover an increase in teaching staff, playground upgrades, buses, technology and digital curriculum and assessment resources.
The funds will also provide support for the increasing social/emotional and behavior needs in our classrooms, including research-based teaching strategies, professional development and mentor coaching for staff, additional mental/behavioral health consultation, parent education, and community-wide family engagement and school readiness events. Personnel will be added that will include, family services staff, education mentor coaches, education mentor coaches and fiscal support.
Murray Head Start is a federally funded program serving primarily low-income children and families in Western Kentucky. Murray Independent Schools is the grantee for the program and their Board of Education serves as its governing body.
