'It's just a dream come true': State awards $5.4 million to seven Spokane County early learning projects
OLYMPIA - The state of Washington has awarded more than $5.4 million in grant funding to seven Spokane County-based organizations to increase the number of available child care spaces.
On Thursday, Gov. Bob Ferguson announced a partnership with the Department of Commerce and the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to distribute $56 million in grant funds for new construction and renovation projects in 40 cities and 17 counties across the state. The money was awarded through the Department of Commerce's Early Learning Facilities program and is expected to create 2,000 additional child care slots.
The program provides financial support to Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program contractors and Working Connections Child Care providers to design, construct or expand early learning facilities and classrooms.
Both programs are open to lower-income families.
The Department of Commerce received 325 applications requesting a total of $277 million in funding.
"When children have access to high-quality early learning, they gain a strong foundation for lifelong learning and success," DCYF Secretary Tana Senn said in a statement Thursday. "By providing capital funding through ELF, we can increase access to programs in communities that have been historically underserved, helping ensure more families - regardless of their income or location - can benefit from child care and early learning."
The largest recipient in Spokane County is the Guardian Angels Childcare Center, which will receive $1.69 million in grants. The Salish School of Spokane is among those who were also awarded funding, and received a grant for just over $1 million.
The school runs the only full-time, Native American immersion school in the state. The school has around 50 kids from preschool to eighth grade, and teaches all core subjects entirely in Colville-Okanagan Salish.
"Spokane is just really unique, and we're just grateful to the broader community for sustaining this work," Christopher Parkin, principal and business manager for the school, said in an interview Friday.
Perkin said the money will help fund an ongoing project to build a new campus on 3.5 acres of land donated by Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington.
The site at 2752 West Elliot Court is expected to be completed in 2028. The project includes a larger space for the Salish immersion school and a cultural community center. Catholic Charities of Eastern Washington is building a 72-unit housing development called "River Family Haven" and has pledged to pass the development to the Salish School of Spokane after a 15-year investor period.
The Salish School previously received a $2.5 million grant from the Department of Commerce for the recreational community center on the facility. The money awarded this week will help fund a portion of the educational building that's devoted to early learning programs.
The project is expected to break ground in June, and construction will take around 18 months.
So far, Salish School has raised $15 million of the $17 million needed to pay for its portion of the project, and continues to seek additional grants and donations to pay for the remainder by the end of construction.
Parkin said the additional money from the Department of Commerce is "really helping us finish that capital stack and allow us to break ground."
The Salish School can currently serve 18 students in its early learning classroom, and anticipates growing the number of seats to allow up to 30 students once it moves to the new facility.
"It's just a dream come true for Native and Salish people in Spokane," Parkin said.
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This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 7:17 PM.