By DONNA KENNY KIRWAN

PROVIDENCE — ”This is a good news story for the children of Providence, Central Falls and Pawtucket ... really, the children of Rhode Island,” said U.S. Rep. James Langevin, as he announced a $3.9 million award from the U.S. Department of Education for the Early Reading First program on Tuesday.

Ready to Learn Providence (R2LP), a program of The Providence Plan, will use the grant to help five early-care programs in Providence, Pawtucket and Central Falls develop approaches that will improve children's readiness for kindergarten and the school years beyond. R2LP is one of 28 non-profit organizations and school districts nationwide, from a pool of more than 450 applicants, to receive an Early Learning First award this year.
This funding will allow R2LP to work with early care programs at Children's Friend Child Care,  Heritage Park YMCA Early Learning Center, Pawtucket Day Child Development Center, Progreso Latino
and Roger Williams Day Care Center over a three-year period. The R2LP will provide the directors, teachers and assistants at these programs with college-level courses and on-site mentoring, all designed to strengthen instruction, improve teacher-child interactions and create environments that support early language and literacy development. Funding from the grant also provides the centers with hundreds of high-quality children's books and other classroom materials
With its Early Reading First grants, the U.S. Department of Education seeks to improve the instruction and environment in pre-school programs supported by the Title 1 program, Head Start, and publicly funded or subsidized child care.
Leslie Gell, R2LP director, noted that this is the third year that the organization is receiving the grant. “Now, we've expanded our geography to Pawtucket and Central Falls. We feel we can reach out to other communities,” she stated. “Our five partner sites are all strong early childhood programs,” added Gell. “With these grant resources, we will have a tremendous opportunity to build upon the strong foundations that exist in these programs.”
Langevin, who was instrumental in obtaining the award, noted that an educated workforce is the key to a strong economy. He said the Early Reading First grant will “make sure children are prepared with their reading and learning skills when they enter kindergarten from the get-go.”
Deborah Gist, the state's Education Commissioner, said she has made pre-kindergarten and early childhood learning a “huge priority” throughout her educational career. She noted that educators are obviously concerned about student performances and so-called “achievement gaps.” However, she also said there is a “preparation gap” that can be bridged “with high quality reading and learning programs.”
Evelyn St. George, the Early Childhood Coordinator for Pawtucket Day Child Development Center, thanked those officials who lobbied for the federal dollars, saying that the money will provide children with the reading, writing and math skills needed “to hit the ground running.” “This is a lifelong investment they will never forget,” she stated.”
Sharon Friedman, Executive Director of the Heritage Park YMCA Early Learning Center, noted that in Pawtucket, 25 percent of the children live in what is considered a high stressed situation due to poverty, linguistic isolation and other factors. She said, however, that “Today, we are making an impact” and that she was  “thrilled” to be involved in a partnership with R2LP and its “proven track record.”