PBS39 has been awarded a $260,000 grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS to extend the reach and impact of PBS KIDS early learning resources to local communities. Over the next four years, PBS39 will collaborate with local partners to create a “Learning Neighborhood” that fosters a community-wide culture of learning at home, in the neighborhood and within local systems and spaces. The program is part of the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn Initiative, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

CPB Senior Vice President of Education and Children’s Content Deb Sanchez said, “Local public media stations and their community partners will play an essential role in pioneering this impactful Learning Neighborhood approach by using and curating public media’s high-quality children’s content as a catalyst for school readiness”. “By working closely with local organizations, public media can provide engaging learning opportunities – anytime and anywhere – for children and families, especially those living in low-income communities.”

The 2020-25 Ready To Learn Initiative is focused on connecting children’s media and learning environments to build key skills for success in school and life, including functional literacy, critical thinking, and collaboration, as well as showing them career options in age-appropriate ways.

“Through the power of public media, we continue to engage the youngest learners in our community, especially as learning has expanded to so many locations and taken on so many different meanings,” said PBS39 Chief Executive Officer Tim Fallon.

PBS39 is one of 10 public television stations receiving grants in this cohort, along with Arkansas PBS, Georgia Public Broadcasting, Ball State PBS (Muncie, IN), Nine PBS (St. Louis, MO), WXXI (Rochester, NY), Rhode Island PBS, East Tennessee PBS (Knoxville, TN), KERA (Dallas, TX) and KSPS (Spokane, WA). They join 12 stations who began their “Learning Neighborhood” models in October 2020: Alaska Public Media; Austin PBS; Alabama Public Television; Detroit Public TV; Vegas PBS; Kentucky Educational Television; PBS SoCal (Los Angeles, CA); PBS Wisconsin; WNET (New York, NY); Maryland Public Television; WQED (Pittsburgh, PA); and WFSU (Tallahassee, FL). Additional communities will be added in the coming years.

This effort is part of a five-year grant awarded to CPB and PBS through the U.S. Department of Education’s Ready To Learn Initiative to develop new multi-platform media and engagement tools that introduce children to career and workforce options and help them build everyday literacy skills.

Contributed article