Heads up: We hear from solid – though unofficial – sources that Early Learning Challenge winners will be announced this Friday morning from Washington.
Meantime, prepare for more unexpectedly good and potentially exciting news to share on the Congressional front having to do with core early learning funding. Congress today is expected to finalize an omnibus package that will determine this year’s funding levels for Head Start, child care, and potential Round 2 funding for the Early Learning Challenge. No funding numbers have been released yet, but they could appear as early as today, with a possible vote by the end of the week. We’ll let you know the moment we hear any specific news.
We relay this quasi-conjecture because we want you to be prepared—and we’re here to help. Be on the lookout for forthcoming fact sheets and other outreach tools being added to our announcement day communications toolkit designed to help you make the most of all the news this week. With all the hard work states have done on their applications and all the amazing work states plan to take on regardless of funding decisions, this is a phenomenal opportunity to celebrate that progress, say thanks to Congress for making this down payment on systems-building, and make the case that we need Round 2 to keep the momentum accelerating.
All the latest intel will be available on our Twitter and Facebook feeds, so follow us there, and stay tuned!