Congratulations to Maria Gonzalez Moeller for being appointed by Governor Charlie Baker to the Board of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC)! 

As the CEO of The Community Group (TCG) in Lawrence, Moeller brings the perspective of early educators and families, and she has become an expert in managing the global pandemic so that children and families can get needed support.

She can also share how local early childhood innovations have helped move Massachusetts through the Covid-19 era.

“We had to do everything from scratch,” Moeller says of how her staff coped with the pandemic, “and we adjusted and evolved. That required a lot of flexibility from our staff and a lot of empathy. We knew everyone was going through a hard time.”

To keep its early childhood classes running even when staff were out sick with Covid, The Community Group developed its own employee pipeline, an apprenticeship program for early educators that began as an internal pilot program and then, with funding from the United Way, expanded to include other early childhood centers in the city.

“Training has been a big priority for us, specifically training in Spanish,” Moeller says. “There are a lot of new residents who come to Lawrence looking for a new career. Many of them are women who were teachers in their own countries. So we offer them the opportunity to become an early childhood professional.”

The apprentices are paid salaries for the hours they train in classrooms. Some have been hired by The Community Group, and others have been placed at the YWCA and the Greater Lawrence Community Action Council.

Moeller says supporting more Spanish-speaking early educators is essential for creating diverse early childhood settings.

“We need representation for the children,” Moeller explains. “We need teachers who speak the language and understand children’s culture and needs. When a child walks into a classroom and they feel comfortable, it makes a huge difference. They are more ready to learn.”

“That’s why we have always been advocates of bilingual training for teachers. Teachers can learn content in Spanish, and they can learn English while they’re learning the content. We’re committed to having at least one Spanish speaking person in the classroom at all times.”

Another challenge is providing overall support for the field.

“Our early childhood staff needed attention for a long time,” Moeller says. “The pandemic was a wake-up call for all of us to think about their importance and how important it is to appreciate their profession.”

“Our community has gone through some traumatic events in the last few years, and we hire from the community so our educators face the same traumas that our children face. So we have to care for both equally.”

Moeller says that it’s also vital to recognize that the Department of Early Education and Care has been going through its own transitions, adjusting to a new commissioner and racing to keep up with the pandemic’s demands and uncertainties.

The silver lining, she says, is that the department has become more flexible.

“There’s also more collaboration,” between the field and the department, Moeller says. “We don’t do anything alone anymore. EEC supports the field, and we support families, and in order to do our jobs better, we need to collaborate.”

As an EEC Board member, Moeller says she will be an advocate for access and inclusion.

 “We have to ask with every policy, How is this going to impact everyone? We have to use the lenses of belonging and empathy. We can’t just ask if a policy is efficient. We have to ask if it’s going to get all of us to where we want to go.”

Tune in to the next Department of Early Education and Care Board meeting which will be on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at EEC’s Central Office, located at 50 Milk Street, 5th Floor, Boston Mass. Watch the live stream on the EEC YouTube Channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/EECMass.