New Jersey grants $42 million for school districts to expand preschool facilities, programs

New Jersey’s preschools will see an influx of federal support to repair, renovate and replace critical aging facilities, while also adding more seats for future students.

The New Jersey Department of Education (NJDOE) is announcing the second round of grants for the Universal Preschool Facilities Expansion (UPFE) grant program, a funding initiative that seeks to strengthen early childhood education throughout the state. Allocated $120 million under the American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State Fiscal Recovery Fund for the year, the department will deliver more than $42 million in grants to build and expand New Jersey’s preschools.

The grants will support projects in school districts across the state that are either building new preschool classrooms, expanding existing facilities or renovating older structures to better accommodate young learners.

The grants were awarded to school districts based on four key priorities: increasing the number of preschool seats by at least 10%, enhancing the capacity of existing preschool classrooms, expanding half-day programs to full-day programs and building new preschool classrooms to accommodate growing enrollment needs.

Each project was assessed on its ability to provide tangible improvements that would directly benefit children and families by increasing access to early childhood education.

In total, the projects funded in this round will create more than 1,000 new preschool seats. These facility expansion projects are intended to complement other statewide education efforts, including increased funding for preschool providers and initiatives to improve the quality of early education across the state.

Of the 22 total New Jersey school districts set to receive grants, the highest awardees and project schools are listed below:

Pennsauken Township School District for Baldwin Elementary School – $7.6 million.

Carteret Public School District for Columbus Elementary School – $5.8 million.

Wayne Township Public School District for Preakness Early Childhood Center – $5 million.

Dunellen Public School District for John P. Faber Elementary School – $3.4 million.

Hamilton Township School District for Joseph C. Shaner Memorial Elementary School – $2.8 million.

Hammonton School District for Hammonton Early Childhood Educational Center – $2.7 million.

Piscataway Township School District for Fellowship Farms Elementary School – $2.2 million.

Palisades Park School District for Charles R, Smith Early Childhood Center – $2 million.

According to program guidelines, grantees will be responsible for at least a 60% cost match for the proposed projects. All projects at selected schools must be completed prior to September 2026.

The UPFE program’s first round, announced last November, delivered more than $74 million in grants to support preschool facility development, expansion and renovation initiatives throughout the state, creating more than 3,500 new preschool seats for prospective students. Concluding round two, NJDOE anticipates adding nearly 5,000 total new seats in New Jersey’s preschools.

With this latest round of UPFE grants, New Jersey is making progress toward its goal of providing universal preschool to residents by helping ensure that more children enter kindergarten ready to succeed academically.

Image by Paul Diaconu from Pixabay