State Awards $2.4 Million to Tribal Programs for Native Early Education
News Brief by Mia Gallegos | FāVS News
The Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) recently awarded a total of $2.4 million to different tribal agencies across the state in order to fund early education for Native American and Tribal children.
“This grant is the first of its kind, awarded only for biennium,” Nancy Gutierrez said, the communications administrator for the DCYF.
The Tribal Early Learning Funds (TELF) awarded this money to 23 different applicants, including 11 different tribal nations, on April 1 of this year. These funds aim to ensure that tribal children (aged prenatal to 5) receive education that optimally serves them in inclusivity and cultural appropriateness within classroom settings.
TELF is expected to benefit between 1,400 and 1,500 students from tribal families all around Washington State.
Some organizations around the Spokane area receiving funds include the Colville Tribe Early Childhood Education Head Start Program(s), the Salish School of Spokane, and Colleen’s Child Care in Nespelem.
Tribal workers from many of these agencies anticipate that including more cultural education within classrooms will help children from Native families cultivate traditional ideals that are continuously being lost within urban environments.
For more information about TELF and its positive impact, visit the DCYF website.
