Invest Early is a school readiness program in Itasca County for infants through age five. It's a unique partnership that includes four school districts: Deer River, Grand Rapids-Bigfork, Greenway, and Nashwauk-Keewatin. The schools share staff, classrooms, and state and local funding with Head Start, Itasca Community College, Itasca County Social Services, and the Blandin Foundation to make pre-school available to children at risk in the County. About five hundred children are currently enrolled at over thirty sites around the County, with many more on the waiting list.