Sherman ISD Building Bearcats Magazine October 2016 Inaugural Issue | Page 8

Sherman ISD Gets $180,000 Pre-K Grant From the littlest learners to college-bound graduates, Sherman ISD offers a range of opportunities to help all students achieve their greatest potential. And now, students in Sherman ISD’s prekindergarten program will benefit from a $180,000 grant from the state of Texas. The funds are part of a $116 million school funding package included in House Bill 4, passed during the 2015 “I legislative session. “This grant will benefit our students and families in so many ways by allowing us to offer educational opportunities we didn’t have before,” Fred Douglass Early Childhood Center Principal Deloris Dowell said. am excited about the grant and how it will benefit the students, parents and teachers” The funds will be used to expand curriculum and technology for students and staff, ensuring Pre-K students receive highquality services in the program. Funds will also be used to take students on local field trips and enhance parent involvement. 8 “We are now able to cover transportation costs to take students outside the classroom to learn,” Dowell said. “This is a great opportunity for our program.” FDECC, the only dedicated Early Childhood Center in Grayson County, works daily to improve the lives of the earliest learners in Sherman ISD. The program ensures that every child is given the opportunity to be a part of a positive and nurturing environment that fosters social, emotional and cognitive development to start their educational career. “I am excited about the grant and how it will benefit the students, parents and teachers,” Dowell said. “The learning going on at FDECC is not only academic, but social and emotional as well, and this grant will help expand that.”