The Illinois State Board of Education has awarded nearly $270 million in preschool grants to programs around the state.

The board announced Tuesday that the grants will help fund about 936 programs serving more than 77,000 children in fiscal year 2012.

Of the programs that will receive funding, 478 were selected by Chicago Public Schools. CPS gets 37% of the state's Early Childhood Block Grant.

The other 458 programs are around the rest of the state.

The education board says reviewers who selected the programs took into account their performance on previous grants and student demographics.

Priority was given to sites that serve a largely low-income student body and those that have a high percentage of African American and Hispanic children.