| Budget wrap-up: Thank Massachusetts’ officials for investing in young children and families |
On July 31, Governor Charlie Baker signed the FY20 state budget into law. The new budget includes good news for early education and care, so please take a minute to thank the governor and members of the Legislature . The FY20 budget for early education and care represents continued progress and investment. This is the seventh consecutive budget since the historic spending low-point of FY13 that increases investments in young children, families, and early educators. It is the second year in a row that state investment has exceeded the pre-recession high-point of investment in FY09. Read more. |
| Recap of the State House hearing on early education and care |
On July 2, there was a standing-room-only hearing at the Massachusetts State House where parents, teachers, and advocates called on elected officials to increase access to high-quality, affordable child care, expand preschool, increase educator salaries, and other priorities. Read more. |
| A new Commissioner of Early Education and Care |
Congratulations to Samantha Aigner-Treworgy. In June, she was chosen as the new commissioner of Massachusetts’ Department of Early Education and Care. “I look forward to working with Ms. Aigner-Treworgy as the next commissioner. She brings a depth of experience in early education that will benefit child care providers and preschools, as well as children and their families across the Commonwealth,” Massachusetts Education Secretary James Peyser said in a press release. Read more. |
 Check out our Eye on Early Education blog for recent stories you may have missed. |
Life after Preschool Expansion Grants: Springfield takes the lead, August 13 Outdoor preschools immerse young children in nature, August 8 Special education and early education – meeting all children’s needs, July 30 In quotes: New York City strikes a pay parity deal for early educators, July 26 Roca’s two-generation approach to family success, July 25 Sally Fuller joins the board of Strategies for Children, June 18 |
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CAP Early Childhood @CAPEarlyEd Aug 7 Nadine Burke Harris @DrBurkeHarris Jul 13 EarlyEducationForAll @EarlyEd4All Jun 29 kim.lucas @kdlucas04 Jun 18 |
notes from Amy
As important as what was being said was, who was saying it - parents, educators, program directors, and community leaders. We organized three panels of testifiers including a panel of educators who taught in a classroom funded by the federal Preschool Expansion Grant – which is set to expire in August 2019 . The panel included Jessica Merrill, Square One Teacher from Springfield, Efrain Ponce Hamlet from Little Sprouts in Lowell, Nicole Penney from GLCAC in Lawrence and Clifford Kwong from Ellis in Boston. As I mentioned in my testimony to introduce the panel, I started as a preschool teacher over 20 years ago at Ellis in Boston. Last year I was at an event at the Boston Public Library and a young man walked up to me and said, “My name is Clifford Kwong, and you were my preschool teacher.” Yes, Clifford was a preschool student in the very first class I taught at Ellis. And NOW, Clifford is a PreK teacher AT Ellis. It has been amazing to get to know Cliff as an adult and talented teacher and to learn more about his teaching philosophy and why he belives in the power of early education. As we continue advocating for policy change and increased public investments in young children and families, we are committed to including the voices of those most impacted by policies: families and educators. We are confident that lasting, meaningful change will not occur without parents and educators at the table. Their stories, experiences, and insights can help inform programs and policies that work for young children, and should not be treated as an afterthought.
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On July 2 at the State House, legislators on the Joint Committee of Education heard passionate testimony in support of several early education bills, covering preschool expansion, affordable child care, workforce pay equity, and more. You can 
