AUGUSTA – Maine wants ideas from the public as it prepares to enter the Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge, a $500 million grant competition among the states sponsored by the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services.
Maine is eligible for up to $50 million in award funds to use for improvements to early childhood education in the state.
The cross-agency team charged with assembling Maine’s application for funding is hosting a series of webinars to inform and gather input from the public. The team is also inviting feedback through a designated web page.
On Friday, Sept. 9 at 10:30 a.m., Maine’s Race to the Top team will host the first webinar as it starts putting together an application to enter the nationwide competition.
The team invites educators, members of the media and the public to participate in the session, which will offer an overview of the competition, an update on what the Maine team has done to date to prepare an application and an opportunity for participants to share ideas for a winning application.
The Race to the Top team expects to schedule a second webinar for the end of September.
Visit Maine’s Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge web page for instructions on participating in the webinar, to view an archive of the online session after Friday, and to share your own input, at http://maine.gov/education/fouryearold/racetothetop/.
David Connerty-Marin | Maine Department of Education | 207-624-6880
Jaci Holmes | Federal Liaison | 207-624-6669