The Bush Foundation has awarded a four-year, $491,943 grant to the Center for Early Education and Development at the University of Minnesota to conduct a continuing-education program on early-childhood development in eight communities in six Midwestern states.
The project, “Continuing Education in Early Development,” is designed to provide information and the results of current research on child development and early-childhood education to pediatricians, nurses, social workers, school administrators, and others who work with young children and their families, according to Erna H. Fishhaut, coordinator for the center.
The project will also provide three kinds of training: seminars for professionals conducted by University of Minnesota staff members and visiting faculty; larger, educational events for professionals, such as lectures and forums; and public education through local media and presentations at public meetings and events. These proposed activities will be conducted in each of the eight communities twice a year for three years, according to Ms. Fishhault.
Sites for the project were chosen based on an analysis of their existing child-development resources, according to Ms. Fishhault. Target sites are Rochester, Minn.; Billings, Mont.; Pierre, S.D.; Stevens Point, Wis.; and the metropolitan areas of Crookston, Minn; Grand Forks, N.D.; Minneapolis/St. Paul; and Omaha/Lincoln, Neb.
