HCC Even Start Program not Awarded Grant for 2009-2010
6/8/2009

FREEPORT – Highland Community College Adult Education officials were recently made aware that the program will not be awarded grant funding for the Even Start Family Literacy program for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. The program designed to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy by improving the educational opportunities of low-income families has been administered by HCC Adult Education for the past eight years.

The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) received 36 grant proposals from across the state totaling $5,851,760 from an available pool of $1,800,000 and was only able to fund 13 proposals for the 2009-2010 fiscal year. According to officials from the ISBE Early Childhood Division, state funding for Even Start programs has declined dramatically since 2005. “It does not reflect poorly on the good work being done by Highland Community College,” according to ISBE Even Start Coordinator Cindy Zumwalt. “It’s a highly competitive process right now.”

Officials are considering submitting a proposal to ISBE for the 2010-2011 fiscal year.

The Adult Education program at HCC will continue to offer English as a Second Language, Adult Basic Education, Adult Secondary Education, GED® test preparation, and Short Term Training when classes resume in the fall. For more information regarding Highland Community College's Adult Education department, contact Mark Jansen at 815.599.3631

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OFFICE OF COMMUNITY RELATIONS
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Freeport, IL 61032-9341

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