Community Teamwork, Inc. and the United Teen Equality Center have been awarded $900,000 from the state for early-education programs.
The two Lowell agencies were among 10 statewide to receive a total of $7.5 million from the state Department of Early Education and Care and the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation.
Lowell was the only community to have multiple agencies awarded.
Community Teamwork, known as CTI, received $500,000. The United Teen Equality Center, known as UTEC, got $400,000.
The state passed legislation in 2013 creating a capital fund to support facilities that host early-education programs licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care. It set aside $45 million in funding over a five-year term.
Twenty organizations requested funding for the first funding period, totaling $17 million. The state approved about half of the requests, judging applicants on feasibility, readiness to implement a new program, and likeliness of long-term sustainability and success.
The funding will support improvements in large-group and early-education and care programs, the state said.
“It is well established through research that environments influence the architecture of a child’s developing brain, so having program spaces that facilitate positive experiences for children is critical,” Early Education and Care Commissioner Tom Weber said in a statement.
“The planned facility developments will modernize spaces, improve the efficiency of systems, and provide better environments for the children that support their optimum growth and learning,” he said.