KBTC Public Television Receives New Ready To Learn Initiative Award to Support Early Childhood Learn

Funding will extend services to more low-income communities, children, teachers, and families                              

TACOMA, Wash. – KBTC Public Television announced today that it will expand school readiness projects in the Tacoma, Washington community with support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS. KBTC Public Television is one of 21 public television stations across the country to receive funding as part of the CPB-PBS Ready To Learn (RTL) Initiative.

With millions of children lacking the basic early math and literacy skills to succeed in school, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and PBS have joined forces through the Ready To Learn Initiative, a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education and Congress, to address this critical school readiness issue, particularly in low-income communities. The RTL Initiative uses multiplatform media and other learning tools – including television programs, interactive games, mobile apps, as well as hands-on activities – to engage and strengthen early learning experiences for children ages 2-8 at home, in preschool, and in other out of school settings. 

KBTC Public Television will collaborate with the Tacoma Housing Authority, Tacoma Public Schools, and other Tacoma-based educational partners who serve children in school, after school, and throughout the summer. It will also provide training to local educators on how to use RTL multiplatform content, and to parents on how to engage their children in math and literacy activities at home.

“Research shows that early learning can help children succeed in school and in life, and the need is even greater for kids from low-income families” said Edward J. Ulman, General Manager of KBTC “With the additional funding from the Ready to Learn initiative, our KBTC community engagement staff and partners will extend resources to help families support early math and literacy learning for the kids in our community.”

Other stations receiving funding include WVIZ/Ideastream (Cleveland), Nebraska Educational Television (Auburn, Fremont, and two sites TBD), WFSU (Tallahassee, Jefferson County), Detroit Public Television (River Rouge, Taylor, Lincoln Park), Iowa Public Television (Burlington, Sioux City, Denison), KBTC (Tacoma), KET (Louisville, Jefferson County), KLRU (Austin), Mississippi Public Broadcasting (Jackson), Maryland Public Television (Baltimore), PBS SoCal (Orange County, Los Angeles), Prairie Public Broadcasting (Northeast Education Services Cooperative region/ Devils Lake), Twin Cities Public Television (Minneapolis, St. Paul), Vegas PBS (Clark County), WCTE (Cookeville), WGBH (Boston, Lawrence), WHRO (Norfolk, Chesapeake), WMHT (Albany), WNED (Buffalo), WQED (Pittsburgh), Illinois Education Collaborative – WSIU, WILL, WTVP (Champaign-Urbana, Carbondale, Peoria). 

 

About The Ready To Learn Initiative

The Ready To Learn Initiative is a cooperative agreement funded and managed by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Innovation and Improvement. It supports the development of innovative educational television and digital media targeted at preschool and early elementary school children and their families. Its general goal is to promote early learning and school readiness, with a particular interest in reaching low-income children. In addition to creating television and other media products, the program supports activities intended to promote national distribution of the programming, effective educational uses of the programming, community-based outreach, and research on educational effectiveness.

 

About KBTC

As a PBS affiliate, KBTC is a service of Bates Technical College and serves more than 3 million viewers from Southwestern Washington to Southern British Columbia. Bates Technical College has owned and operated KBTC since 1992. In 1980, KBTC launched its satellite station KCKA in Centralia serving the Southern region of the state. KBTC was originally licensed in 1961 to Tacoma Public Schools, broadcasting under the call letters KTPS-TV. For more information, visit www.kbtc.org, or call 253.680.7700.

About Bates Technical College

Founded in 1940, Bates Technical College offers certificate and degree opportunities in 53 career education programs, and serves approximately 3,000 career training students and 10,000 more community members annually in extended learning, distance learning, high school, and other programs. For more information, go to www.bates.ctc.edu, or call 253.680.7000.