Indianola Promise Community will be funded for at least another two years.
According to a release from Delta Health Alliance, DHA has secured a $6 million grant to continue with the IPC initiative for the foreseeable future.
“This funding award means that we can continue our efforts in Indianola ensuring that Indianola children are ready for school,” states Karen Matthews, CEO of Delta Health Alliance. “Since full implementation in 2013, we have seen significant increases in children who enter school ready to learn, students performing better on standardized tests and early childhood centers working closely together to coordinate their curricula.”
The programs that will continue are Delta Parents as Teachers, Imagination Library, LINKS, SPARK with Children’s Defense Fund, Teacher Development, Literacy Fellows, Project RISE Afterschool Summer Tutoring and IPC Summer Camps.
DHA is one of just three organizations to receive this grant in the United States, the release said.
“When we are seeing kindergarteners three times more likely to be school-ready and record numbers of first and second graders scoring above national norms, we are showing marked change,” said DHA Vice President Carolyn Willis.
Willis oversees IPC programs and staff.
Delta Health Alliance partners with local agencies and grassroots organizations throughout Indianola to jointly carry out IPC’s goal to ensure Indianola children are ready for school, that students who need help get help quickly and that young people stay in school through graduation and transition to post-secondary education.
The program has been popular since its inception with both citizens and the business community.
“To be acknowledged nationally and receive additional funding speaks volumes of the work Delta Health Alliance’s program has had here in Indianola,” said IPC Steering Committee Co-Chairman Tom Gresham. “The funding announcement comes just at the right time so IPC can plan for the 2018-19 school year.”
