State Sen. John T. Yudichak, Luzerne/Carbon, announcedthat the Lehighton Area School District received a $170,000 Pre-Kindergarten ("Pre-K") Counts grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

"The implementation of a Pre-K program in the Lehighton Area School District will give children a head start on their education."Research has shown that having access to quality Pre-K programs can save schools money in the long term, yet many children still lack access to these programs," Yudichak said."With this funding we're going to be able to educate 40 3- and 4-year-old students in our district. Forty more young students will now have the opportunity to learn and grow, which is beyond great," said Lehighton Area School District Superintendent Jonathan Cleaver."We'll have 20 kids in the morning and 20 kids in the afternoon, with each session going for two and a half hours. The program will help the students better transition to kindergarten and it will also help us get a better understanding of the students themselves and how to best serve them."Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts is bringing quality Pre-K education to nearly 19,000 3- and 4-year-old children across the commonwealth.For more information on Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts, visit

www.education.pa.gov