USC racks up more stimulus funds


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For USC, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act is a gift that keeps on giving.

The USC School for Early Childhood Education was the latest USC organization to receive stimulus funds, in the form of a two-year, $1 million grant.

Ray Hernandez, the executive director of early childhood education, told USC News that the grant will allow the school to put more resources toward pregnant teens, which is a prevalent concern in the area surrounding USC’s campus.

“We were looking to address the needs in the area, and we saw the number of teen pregnancies and teen parents,” Hernandez told USC News. “Our goal is to help these teens have a healthy pregnancy and healthy baby by develop their parenting skills.”

The grant will allow the school — which has provided preschool services to low-income families since 1970 — to expand its services to nearly 540 people and hire 12 new staff members.