Gov. John Carney visited Delaware State University for a progress update on the Early Childhood Innovation Center Thursday.
Carney joined DSU and Delaware Department of Education officials for tours of the existing center, and the site of the new building.
The Early Childhood Innovation Center is an initiative aimed at redesigning the state’s early childhood education support model.
The $30.6 million project is funded through both state and federal funds- with $10.6 million coming from the American Rescue Plan Act.
The money will help put together new programs, and to support and build a center that will be there for people to learn, grow, and access scholarships, cohorts and other programs advancing their degrees and credentials.
Dr. Kim Krzanowski is the Executive Director of DSU’s Early Childhood Innovation Center. She describes the new facility on DSU’s main campus.
"It will be a two story building. The first floor will be a renovated state of the art lab school that will have infants all the way up to preschool, possibly school aged children. It will be a research facility that will allow for local providers and other states to come in and see what we're doing, and then the second floor will be the ECIC administrative suite, which will house our programs, our staff, and also have classrooms and meeting spaces for the public," said Krzanowski.
Gov. Carney says these investments will lead to a big pay-off for the state’s children.
"The investments we're making here at Delaware State University, University of Delaware, and frankly our high schools and at Del Tech are critically important for the workforce that trains our youngest learners, and we feel like if we can get those children the first grade and kindergarten ready to go they're going to do a lot better through their elementary and secondary careers," said Carney.
The new center is under construction, and will be located at what was formerly Grossley Hall.
