Company Profile

Company Description:

The DC LEAD grant aims to provide the District’s childcare educators with the knowledge, skills, and credentials needed to work with DC’s youngest learners and increase the number of high-quality early childhood professionals in the District through scholarships for postsecondary degrees. Southeast Children’s Fund (SCF) is the recipient of the DC LEAD grant through the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Division of Early Learning (DEL) and will administer the grant program.

Through SCF, the DC LEAD program provides scholarships and incentives to childcare educators in the District of Columbia to complete coursework toward an associate and/or bachelor’s degree in ECE to: 

• Improve child development program services by ensuring high-quality early care and education for young children and families; 
• Earn credentials and increase capacity to improve practices in the field of ECE; 
• Meet the current minimum education requirements; 
• Improve staff retention; and
• Increase compensation.

The DC LEAD scholarship and incentive program was launched on Wednesday, June 8, 2022. Childcare educators can access the DC LEAD scholarship and incentive application by visiting the DC LEAD webpage on the OSSE and SCF websites. The OSSE and SCF websites also provide more information about the DC LEAD scholarship and incentive program eligibility requirements and directions on how to apply.