A recent $45,000 grant from the Ethel and Raymond Rice Foundation will allow the East Heights Early Childhood Family Center to continue to receive funding for teacher salaries from the Lawrence Schools Foundation.

The East Heights center, 1430 Haskell Ave., is home to the district’s Readiness program, which provides preschool for about 100 at-risk 4-year-old Lawrence students.

Since 1996, the Rice Foundation has awarded nearly $500,000 in grants to the schools foundation for the district’s preschool program, which also benefits from other private donors.

“Most of these children would not, otherwise, receive an early childhood education experience and would start kindergarten already behind their peers,” said Susan Esau, the foundation’s executive director.

The foundation provides about $100,000 every year to the Readiness program. For more information about contributions, Esau can be reached at 330-1941 or by e-mail at sesau@usd497.org.