“Access to early childhood education is a vital component of ensuring children are ready to start kindergarten with the skills they need to be successful,” Gov. Nixon said. “We’re proud to make this more than $1 million Start Smart investment here in Maryville to help St. Francis Hospital continue their mission of offering quality, affordable early learning opportunities to area families.”
The Governor announced that through the Missouri Start Smart initiative, the Missouri Department of Economic Development has awarded a $1 million Community Development Block Grant to the City of Maryville on behalf of SSM Health St. Francis Hospital. In addition, a $250,000 Neighborhood Assistance Program tax credit will help the hospital construct a new, 15,817-square-foot early learning and Early Head Start center, increasing the available early learning slots offered by SSM Health from 67 to 136.
For the past 30 years, St. Francis Hospital has provided early learning opportunities within the community at a small facility that was formerly a single-family home built in the late 1950s. Due to the age and size of this facility, the ability of SSM Health to expand early learning opportunities has been extremely limited. The new early learning and Early Head Start center, made possible by the Start Smart grant, will be operated in partnership with Community Services, Inc. Additionally, early childhood education majors attending Northwest Missouri State University will be able to complete hands-on, practical experience in early childhood education.
“As a long-term goal of ours, we want to continue to provide this service to the community we serve,” said Mike Baumgartner, president of SSM Health St. Francis Hospital. “In collaboration with our partners, this new preschool facility will allow us to provide a high quality learning environment for the children in our area.”