Midland College receives $349K grant for teaching programs in West Texas

Midland College is receiving its second $349,480 Texas School Ready Grant from University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

The grant focuses on professional development, coaching and mentoring for pre-k, Head Start and private child care teachers throughout West Texas.

“The goal of this program is to help children be better prepared for school.

Midland College received a similar grant in 2015, and we hire a coordinator to lead professional development activities for teachers in Midland, Odessa and rural West Texas communities.

Our goal is to continue those efforts with this additional funding” explains Denise McKown, MC department chair of Education and Child Care and Development.

The Midland Coordinator and coach help the teachers throughout the school year by providing tools and techniques to better support the pre-school teacher’s students.

“The grant not only provides personnel to assist local teachers, but also provides curriculum materials and a laptop computer to the facilities for tracking the children’s progress,” said Lori Smith, MC associate professor of Child Development/Early Childhood.

Studies conducted by the Children’s Learning Institute at McGovern Medical School, UT Health, confirm the program is positively impacting teachers instructional methods in the classroom.