Shelby schools receive grants for early education

Two school systems in Shelby County will receive a share of $18.1 million in grants for early childhood education from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration’s Office of Early Childhood and Out-of-School Learning.

The first round of employer-sponsored child care grants went to 64 businesses, community groups and school corporations around the state. The initiative is meant to mobilize employers and communities to create or expand child care offerings to address the needs of working Hoosiers.

Shelby Eastern and Shelbyville school systems will each receive a $200,000 grant.

A second round of grants to a smaller group will be announced next year. The program is a partnership with the Indiana Chamber of Commerce and uses a portion of the state’s remaining federal relief funds from the COVID-19 pandemic.

No locations in Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson, Jennings or Johnson counties received funding.