State Funding Available to Help Early Childhood Education Providers Serve More Children

Early childhood education providers can apply for a share of nearly $4 million in state funding to help them boost their offerings. The Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is offering grants to help schools and child care centers serve more children and increase the quality of their services. Specifically, grants can be used for teacher training, classroom materials, or family engagement activities.

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Pre-K Program at Culver Community Schools Will Not Be Implemented in January, Could Possibly Start Next School Year

A decision has been made to not move forward with a Pre-Kindergarten program at Culver Community Schools in January of next year. However, according to Superintendent Karen Shuman that doesn’t mean it is completely out of the question.

Shuman said, “We do hope to come next school year, when we do kindergarten round-up we’ll be doing a pre-k round-up at the same time.” The superintendent explained that they’ll determine whether or not to implement a program depending on the number of people who attend the round-up for children who would be heading into preschool. Continue reading

Culver Community Schools Seek Parental Input about Need for Pre-K Classes

Officials at Culver Community Schools are asking local parents to help them determine whether or not there is a need for Pre-Kindergarten classes for 4 and 5-year-olds within the town of Culver and the surrounding area.

Superintendent Karen Shuman is encouraging interested parents to contact the corporation office and says parents should be ready to answer questions, such as whether or not the child is currently 4 or 5 or if they will be 4 by August 1st of 2018.

They’re also collecting information about preferences for AM, PM or all-day classes. They want to know whether or not the parent is currently working or attending school and if the child would need transportation in order to attend a Culver Pre-K class. Continue reading

Pre-K Applications available to Marshall County Families

Staff members of the Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning is now accepting applications from families in Marshall County who may be eligible to enroll their child in pre-kindergarten classes.

Marshall County families must meet certain requirements in order to be eligible for this grant funding. The family must have an income below 127 percent of the federal poverty level and the parents or guardians must be working and/or attending school or a certified education/training program. The child must have turned four by Aug. 1, 2017 and starting kindergarten in August 2018.

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Culver Superintendent’s Report Includes Proposed Programs for Students Young and Old

The report delivered by Superintendent Karen Shuman at the Culver School Board meeting Monday night contained some proposed programs for both older and younger students in the Culver community.

Shuman told the board about potential teen programs they are looking into with the assistance of a local group of community members. She said that with programs specifically targeted at teenagers, they are hoping to bridge the gap between Culver Community students, surrounding community schools’ students and students from Culver Academy. The potential program has been entitled ‘Teen Canteen’ and would provide certain activities for teen students to do on Friday and Saturday nights.

For younger community members, Shuman said the school corporation is looking into becoming an On-My-Way Pre-K school. Though they currently have some programs in place, they are looking to move those to their school corporation to help service parents more locally. Continue reading