The United Way of Greater Chattanooga has agreed to take charge of $100,000 in early learning scholarships on behalf of the city.
The agreement comes as part of an overall strategy by Mayor Andy Berke to increase early learning opportunities for children as a means of empowering a diversified economy.
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"We have to stop believing that early learning is a luxury that is only available to those who can afford it," Berke has said.
Berke established an Office of Early Learning last year and has called early learning an "economic imperative" for Chattanooga to remain competitive. Chambliss Center for Children and Signal Centers serve as partners in the program.
On Tuesday, the Chattanooga City Council voted 9-0 to transfer $100,000 from the city's Youth and Family Development program to United Way for that purpose.
"The United Way has graciously agreed to help us, the City of Chattanooga, to distribute these scholarships throughout the community," Maura Sullivan, the city's chief operating officer, told council members.
The scholarships aim to help families get their children into "high-quality experiences at either a preschool or daycare," Berke said in his State of the City address last spring.
"The early learning scholarships will help parents who earn too much money to qualify for state vouchers, but don't make enough to afford quality early learning for their children," city spokeswoman Marissa Bell said in an email.
United Way CEO Lesley Scearce discussed the scholarship program with council members in late December.
A committee of representatives who work with families, childcare centers, institutions of higher learning and other education-focused stakeholders was established in October to evaluate family eligibility and tuition costs, provide support for parental engagement strategies and establish scholarship reimbursement procedures, Scearce said.
Even if a family receives a scholarship, they will still need to contribute financially to tuition, Scearce said.
"They will have skin in the game," she said.
The program's ultimate multi-generational goal is to increase school readiness and prepare childen to succeed in life, Scearce said.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @pleach_tfp.