The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health awards 11 early education grants to Idaho school districts
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is dedicated to giving back to Idaho and addressing the root causes that impact health. Education and health are closely linked, and studies show how better educational outcomes lead to healthier futures.
A child’s experiences early in life are key predictors to health later in life. Studies have found that early education is critically important for brain and social development which has profound benefits later in life.
Children who attend preschool as well as children from families that use early education materials and tools show up to kindergarten more prepared and ready to learn.
In Idaho, the latest data shows that only 51 percent of Idaho children have the pre-literacy, math, and social-emotional skills needed in kindergarten. Early education is critical to kindergarten readiness.
School district leaders across the state understand the importance of early education and have a strong interest in starting programs to help their children succeed.
These are reasons why the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health is awarding more than $500,000 to support early education programs in the state. Eleven school districts are receiving funding to launch or expand their early education and preschool programs.
“We are proud to be supporting the expansion of early education programming across Idaho and believe that all families and children should have access to quality resources, materials and programs regardless of their ZIP code,” said Jackie Yarbrough, senior program officer for the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health.
The districts receiving grant funding are:
- Basin School District (Idaho City)
- Bruneau Grand View Joint School District (Bruneau)
- Caldwell School District
- Castleford School District
- Genesee School District
- Horseshoe Bend School District
- Marsing School District
- Meadows Valley School District (New Meadows)
- Sugar Salem School District (Sugar City)
- West Side School District (Dayton)
These early education grants were created by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health after listening to key education stakeholders talk about the importance of the topic.
“After many conversations with Idaho school administrators across the state, an early education theme emerged about the need for additional learning support around best practices,” Yarbrough said. “It was also clear that funding to launch or expand preschool programs was desperately needed because there is no state funding to support early education programming beyond developmental preschool programs that serve some of Idaho’s must vulnerable preschoolers.”
The 11 districts that earned grants attended an Early Education & Schools webinar series, a four-part learning collaborative where each learned best practices for launching or expanding early education programs. The series was offered by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health, which partnered with Idaho Association for the Education of Young Children for the series’ curriculum.
“I anticipated that we would have 12-15 school districts sign up to participate based on expressed interest, and I was surprised and thrilled at 35 districts enrolled in and completed the learning series,” Yarbrough said, adding that all districts were eligible to apply for grant funding upon completion of the series. “This interest showed us that Idahoans value early education and want it available in their communities.”
Education remains one of the root causes that impacts health in Idaho. The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health has invested more than $3.67 million since 2021 to support pre-K through Grade 12 education in Idaho. The Foundation also has established scholarship programs at most Idaho colleges and universities.