Celebrating early education providers who champion families’ roles as their children’s first teachers, Early Learning Indiana recently announced the winners of its 2018 Family Engagement Prize.

Funded through a grant from the Lilly Endowment, 15 different early care and education providers, including Zion Lutheran School and Preschool in Seymour, received a total of $90,000.

Prize winners were selected for their innovative practices that engage families, including offering parenting classes, job placement, housing and assistance for food and fuel needs and providing take-home educational materials that help parents and children connect at home, according to a news release.

This year, the competition’s second year, 45 early care and education providers entered the prize competition. In 2017, Early Learning Indiana awarded $72,500 to 14 providers around the state. Since 2015, Early Learning Indiana has awarded more than $2 million in grants to create 1,500 new high-quality seats throughout the state.

Early Learning Indiana, an early childhood education nonprofit, was founded in 1899 as Day Nursery.