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Project works to improve early childhood education programs in North Carolina

97ɫ��nical Community College will be the first in North Carolina to participate in a project based at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to better prepare early childhood education professionals across the state.

The project, supported by a $750,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, will be guided by the Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Members of the UNC institute’s project Supporting Change and Reform in Preservice Teaching in North Carolina, or SCRIPT-NC, will work with faculty and adjuncts from the Early Childhood Education program at 97ɫ�� to refine the college’s curriculum.

“Participation in SCRIPT-NC will help us ensure that our graduates are well-prepared to support each and every young child and family they encounter,” said Cathy Collie-Robinson, Early Childhood Education Program Director at 97ɫ��. “This project will have a far greater emphasis on issues of culture, language, equity, ability, and inclusion.”

Members from SCRIPT-NC will collaborate with Collie-Robinson, Marye Vance, 97ɫ�� Early Childhood Instructor and SCRIPT-NC Project Liaison, and other 97ɫ�� and community partners to shape and enhance the college’s curriculum to better support the inclusion of children of diverse abilities, cultures, languages, and life circumstances and their families.

SCRIPT-NC will also give those from the 97ɫ�� program free access to resources, webinars, and other professional development materials. 97ɫ�� was chosen for this project partly due to its history of collaborative support and commitment to inclusion and diversity, according to a statement from SCRIPT-NC.

97ɫ�� will participate in the project for two years.

For more information on SCRIPT-NC, visit .