SIP programs will expand high-quality pre-K programs, have capacity to serve 1,000 4-year-old children in 50 classrooms in school districts.
On Thursday, the State Board of Education awarded $15,450,000 in grants to 11 school districts to implement new State Invested Pre-K (SIP) programs.
During the 2022 legislative session, the Mississippi Legislature appropriated $20 million in new state funding to the Mississippi Department of Education (MDE) to provide grant opportunities to Other Early Learning Programs through public schools, including public school pre-kindergarten programs not participating in MDE’s Early Learning Collaboratives (ELC).
Remaining funds will be used for overall management of the SIP program.
In a release, MDE said SIP programs will expand high-quality pre-K programs and have the capacity to serve 1,000 4-year-old children in 50 classrooms in school districts that are not part of an ELC.
“However, just like the ELCs, SIP programs will meet all 10 National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) benchmarks: use of early learning standards, curriculum supports, teacher degree, teacher specialized training, assistant teacher degree, staff professional development, maximum class size, staff-child ratio, screenings and referrals, and a continuous quality improvement system,” MDE said.
Providing districts successfully complete services from the preceding fiscal year’s grant, districts will continue to receive funding in years two through three of the program pending the availability of funds.
MDE said an additional funding opportunity for school districts, local Head Starts, licensed child care centers and private or parochial schools to join the ELC program will be advertised in a few weeks at mdek12.org/PN/RFP.
View the chart below to see the grantee SIP districts and funding allocations for each:
| School District |
Head Start Partnership |
Classrooms |
Amount Granted per Classroom | Grant Amount per year | Total Grant Amount
2022-2025 |
| Bay St. Louis – Waveland | 6 | $100,000 | $600,000 | $1,800,000 | |
| Jefferson Davis County | 2 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $600,000 | |
| Lauderdale County | 8 | $100,000 | $800,000 | $2,400,000 | |
| Natchez-Adams | 2 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $600,000 | |
| Newton Municipal | X | 2 | $125,000 | $250,000 | $750,000 |
| North Bolivar | 2 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $600,000 | |
| Smith County | X | 4 | $125,000 | $500,000 | $1,500,000 |
| Tupelo Municipal | 1 | $100,000 | $100,000 | $300,000 | |
| Union County | 2 | $100,000 | $200,000 | $600,000 | |
| Vicksburg – Warren | 11 | $100,000 | $1,100,000 | $3,300,000 | |
| Wayne County | 10 | $100,000 | $1,000,000 | $3,000,000 | |
TOTAL |
50 | $5,150,000 | $15,450,000 |
Anne Summerhays
