Santa Monica College in Southern California has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to improve the recruitment, training, guidance and support of students who want careers in early childhood education.

Santa Monica College in Southern California has been awarded a $1.2 million grant to improve the recruitment, training, guidance and support of students who want careers in early childhood education. The grant--$400,000 a year for three years--was awarded by Los Angeles Universal Preschool, an independent, public benefit corporation dedicated to making preschool available to children in Los Angeles County. The goal of the grant is to attract students into the early childhood field and keep them on track once they begin their college studies. The college, in partnership with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Cal State Dominguez Hills, plans to create an "early start pathway" that will raise awareness of careers in early childhood education and enable high school students to take college courses through Santa Monica's dual enrollment program