Boone County receives grant to focus on early childhood education

A $25,000 grant will help Boone County organizations prioritize early childhood development.

Boone is one of only eight counties nationwide to receive the grant from the Pritzker’s Child Initiative. Boone was awarded the grant in partnership with Cradle to Career.

“As I was going through putting the proposal together, the questions they were asking I thought, ‘We really are doing something in Boone County,'” said Crystal Kroner, the Collaborative Network Action manager at Cradle to Career.

Without some sort of intervention, some children heading to school will already be behind in many ways, even at just three-years-old.

“With the kindergarten readiness piece we found is there’s about a 30 percent gap, already as children are entering into kindergarten,” said Kroner. “It’s primarily around poverty and by race.

Boone County’s community services director Kelly Wallis, who oversees and coordinates the disbursement of funds collected from the county’s Children’s Services tax, said they want to connect with families and fill in the gaps.

“Anywhere from basic needs like clothing, food and shelter all the way up to mental health services or substance use disorder services,” she said.

While there are no specific plans right now, the grant will help organizers look at what’s already been accomplished by stakeholders in the community and how that might be improved.

“If we’re looking at a trend, if it continues along this line, are we OK with that as a community, and if we’re not, what can we do?” said Kroner. “That’s what action planning is.”

The county will also receive technical assistance from experts in early childhood education.

Boone is one of the first cohorts of counties to receive the grant and it lasts until December.