Courtesy of Fayetteville State University
Governor Roy Cooper visited and toured the Fayetteville State University Early Childhood Learning Center today to highlight the NC Child Care Stabilization Grants. To date, more than $655 million has been distributed to 4,200 child care facilities across the state to support and retain the early educator workforce.
“Investing in early childhood education is one of the most important things we can do for the future of our state,” Governor Cooper said. “These grants are helping provide parents with the time and flexibility to keep and obtain good-paying jobs while ensuring their children are cared for. I commend Fayetteville State University for its commitment to preparing our early childhood educators and providing high-quality early care and learning.”
“Well-trained, educated and compensated early care and learning teachers are at the heart of high-quality child care,” said Kristi Snuggs Ed.D., Deputy Director of the Division of Child Development and Early Education at the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. “With the help of historic federal investments, North Carolina and our early childhood programs and teachers have kept child care open through the pandemic so children were learning and parents were working. With federal investments ending soon, now is the time to work together to keep early childhood teachers doing the work they love and attract more well-qualified teachers to the field.”
“We are honored and elated to receive a North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grant to bolster our facilities and services and to recognize and reward our faculty and students for their crucial work and essential care,” said Chandrika Johnson Ph.D., interim dean of the FSU College of Education. “The College of Education is proud to prepare the next generation of early child care educators and serve our community at the same time through the center.”
“Teaching and learning early in a child’s life are crucial to their overall development and readiness for the next stage of life,” said Jocelyn Smith-Gray E.D., assistant professor of birth through kindergarten and assistant chair of FSU’s Department of Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Grades, Reading, and Special Education. “We deeply appreciate the confidence in our program this grant represents, and we look forward to giving educators and students the tools and support they need to succeed and make a difference.”
“The College of Education at Fayetteville State has been preparing dynamic and caring educators of the highest caliber since its inception,” said FSU Chancellor Darrell T. Allison. “Our faculty, staff and students are deeply committed to the welfare and well-being of the children and families we serve. The North Carolina Child Care Stabilization Grant is a powerful affirmation of their incredible contributions; we congratulate them for their achievements and look forward to what lies ahead.”
Over the course of the pandemic, a historic $1.9 billion in one-time federal dollars has been invested in NC’s child care system to stabilize it, keeping child care programs across the state open and teachers working.
This funding to support child care programs will be fully expended in October 2023.
