The Tate County School District is one of 20 across Mississippi receiving a portion of $24,064,656 in grants to implement or continue State Invested Pre-K (SIP) programs.
The purpose of the grants is to provide funding to support high-quality pre-K programs for four-year-old children in districts that are not part of the Mississippi Department of Education’s Early Learning Collaborative program.
SIP programs expand MDE’s offering of high-quality pre-K programs. The funds will be used by 10 districts to renew SIP programs and 10 other districts to create new SIP programs.
Tate County Schools will receive $125,000 per classroom over the next three years to create a new SIP program and partner with Head Start to provide additional services to children in the program.
“Thanks to the support of our school board and the state grant, we’ll launch a district Pre K class at Coldwater in fall 2026,” said TCSD Superintendent Alee’ Dixon. “We’re starting with one class to build a strong foundation with plans to expand the program to Strayhorn and East Tate in the coming years.”
The first SIP programs in the state were implemented in August 2023. There are now a total of 33 SIPs in Mississippi that serve up to 2,120 students in 109 classrooms.
The Mississippi Legislature appropriates state funding to provide public schools with a grant opportunity to implement pre-K programs.
Like the ELCs, the SIP programs will meet all 10 National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) benchmarks: use of Early Learning Standards, curriculum support, teacher degree, teacher specialized training, assistant teacher degree, staff professional development, maximum class size, staff-child ratio, screenings and referrals, and a continuous quality improvement system.
While partnerships with local childcare centers or Head Start grantees are not required to receive the grants, applicants who establish these partnerships receive priority points during the evaluation process.
The grant period begins July 1, 2025, and runs through June 30, 2028.
Awarding of the grant each year is contingent on the successful completion of services, a performance evaluation and availability of funds.
