Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation awards $194,255 in education grants

OWATONNA, Minn. — The Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation recently awarded $194,255 in Early Care and Education grants.

The grants will help organizations cover social, emotional and physical health needs, training to address the needs of young children, and activities prioritizing the needs of underserved groups. The program focuses on services for children from birth to 5 years old.

Among the grants across the 20-county SMIF region, the $100,255 in grants to organizations in Southeast Minnesota include:

• Aldrich Memorial Nursery School: $12,000 for an outdoor classroom to help develop motor skills.
• Byron Community Education: $5,000 to expand mental health supports as well as an early childhood parent education room.
• Chatfield Public School – Early Childhood: $15,000 to strengthen and support social-emotional learning in the early childhood classrooms, child care settings and homes.
• Families First of Minnesota: $15,000 to teach social-emotional concepts and strengthen relationships between home and school.
• Jeremiah Program in Rochester: $10,000 to increase access to high-quality early childhood education for children of low-income single mothers.
• Kenyon Wanamingo Early Childhood: $3,755 to provide proactive parenting solutions for challenging behaviors.
• Ridgeway Community School in Houston: $15,000 to expand program hours of the preschool-aged child care program and provide training for social, emotional, physical and mental health supports.
• Rochester Montessori School: $14,500 to develop appropriate behavior plans for diverse learner support and design weekly lessons with culturally relevant social stories and activities.
• Spring Grove Public Schools: $10,000 to create outdoor learning backpacks for families with young children to check out through the library.