Federal Preschool Development Grant Birth-5
Awarded to the Virginia Department of Education in 2019 and supported by a partnership among VDOE, University of Virginia, and the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, the Preschool Development Grant Birth to Five (PDG B-5) is a competitive multi-year federal grant. PDG B-5 is designed to improve Virginia’s early childhood landscape, by unifying birth-to-five providers and increasing family’s access to quality child care. This grant builds upon existing federal, state, and local early care and learning investments, which results in accelerated development of equitable Virginia early childhood systems.
These efforts also help early care and education providers prepare for the implementation of Virginia’s new statewide unified measurement and improvement system (VQB5).
To learn more, email Lucy@vecf.org.
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To achieve our goals of educating bold and ambitious children, we must invest in enriching, quality early child care and learning.

PDG B-5 Communities Map

Needs Assessment & Strategic Plan
Through the PDG B-5 grant, Virginia seeks to understand the current state of early care and education and what it will take to provide children with quality care, support, and a strong start in life. Key activities of the grant include the production of a statewide needs assessment and a strategic plan to inform efforts to improve equitable access to quality early care and education for children ages birth to five in Virginia. Both resources, announced by the Governor on August 8, 2019, were developed with input from a broad range of stakeholders and with guidance from the School Readiness Committee and its Impact Workgroup.
Virginia PDG B-5 Needs Assessment Executive Summary
Teacher Recognition Program
The Teacher Recognition Program is a central activity of the PDG B-5 initiative and involves awarding a financial incentive to eligible teachers in PDG B-5 communities. The program is a strategy for supporting, retaining, and rewarding talented yet undercompensated early educators in non-school early learning settings, as part of Virginia’s effort to increase access to high quality early childhood care and education experiences for historically marginalized children, families and communities. Lead and assistant teachers working directly with children at least 30 hours per week are eligible to participate.
Additional questions? Email PDGB5@vecf.org
LinkB5 Data Portal & Resources
LinkB5 is a data portal website that connects communities of early childhood care and education providers serving children ages birth to five • The home for Virginia’s new Unified Measurement and Improvement System, VQB5 • A collection of communities’ information about their unique early childhood resources so they can strengthen and grow