Educare West DuPage gets $1.1 million grant for early childhood education

The office of Rep. Lauren Underwood (IL-14) recently announced that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has awarded Educare West DuPage $1,112,540 to strengthen their Early Head Start early education program.

Educare West DuPage is a part of a national network of Head Start providers working to ensure more children have access to high-quality early education.

"Early Head Start is one of the most successful federal anti-poverty programs that ensures young children have high-quality learning opportunities. I'm proud to support this program for families in our community, and am grateful to the dedicated teachers and staff who serve in Early Head Start classrooms," Underwood said. "I remain dedicated to advocating for the resources children and families in northern Illinois need to thrive."

"Educare West DuPage is a research based, dual-language early childhood school that is continuing to strive toward its mission of preventing the achievement gap by offering the highest quality early childhood experiences for the children and families that are most in need in the West Chicago community," stated Marcela Sweeney, executive director of Educare West DuPage, in the news release.

"This federal grant will continue to enhance the community by elevating the importance of children's first five years of life and making certain that young children from under-resourced communities have the best possible opportunity for success," Sweeney said.