A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. In Pittsfield, we know how important early education is. Children who don’t get a strong start can’t read proficiently by third grade. In our city, 2017 MCAS data shows that only 44 percent of third graders are proficient in English and only 44 […]
Search Results for '"Ready to Go"'
Ready to Go: Pittsfield
Posted in Achievement gap, Federal, Funding, Guest Blog, MA governor, MA Legislature, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-K to 3, Science & math, Strategies for Children on December 7, 2017| Leave a Comment »
Ready to Go: Lawrence
Posted in Developmentally appropriate practice, Family engagement, Funding, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten on June 2, 2017| Leave a Comment »
A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. Lawrence is one of five Massachusetts communities implementing the federal Preschool Expansion Grant. This high-quality model funds 10 preschool classrooms for 130 of Lawrence’s children. The community also has a three-year strategic plan for further preschool expansion. Beyond serving more children, the plan includes […]
Ready to Go: Holyoke
Posted in Curriculum, Family engagement, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, tagged #ReadytoGo on May 26, 2017| 1 Comment »
A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. Holyoke is one of five Massachusetts communities implementing the federal Preschool Expansion Grant. This high-quality model funds four preschool classrooms for 76 of Holyoke’s children. The city also has an ambitious preschool expansion plan: Holyoke wants to have a universal Pre-K program that would serve […]
Ready to Go: Worcester
Posted in Early educators, Funding, Health, Pre-kindergarten on April 7, 2017| 1 Comment »
A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. Worcester holds the triple distinction of being the second largest city in New England, a leading Gateway City, and the leading refugee resettlement community, welcoming 300-500 new families each year. All these factors drive this unique, richly diverse city. Worcester also faces challenges. Each […]
Ready to Go: Somerville
Posted in Curriculum, Early educators, Funding, MA state budget, Pre-kindergarten on March 3, 2017| 2 Comments »
A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. Somerville serves only about 45 percent of the 4-year-olds who could potentially enroll in preschool. Our Preschool Expansion Strategic Planning Grant inspired us to develop a three-year plan that builds upon existing partnerships and adds 108 additional seats in a mixed-delivery system. To do this […]
Ready to Go: New Bedford
Posted in Funding, Pre-kindergarten on February 10, 2017| 2 Comments »
A series featuring communities that have a plan to expand preschool. There are 7,805 children under age 6 living in New Bedford. A young child raised in our city is more than twice as likely to live below the poverty line as an average Massachusetts child (38 percent versus 17 percent). If it were funded, […]
Momentum grows for preschool expansion in Massachusetts
Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Funding, MA governor, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Strategies for Children on March 28, 2019| Leave a Comment »
Across Massachusetts, communities are ready to expand their high-quality preschool programs. All they need is more state funding. And with budget season in full swing, now is a great time to ask the Legislature to invest well and wisely in early education and care. Communities have been waiting for preschool funding for several years. […]
Unpacking NIEER’s State of Preschool 2017 Yearbook
Posted in Funding, MA governor, MA Legislature, MA state budget, National, Pre-kindergarten, QRIS on May 3, 2018| Leave a Comment »
The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) has released its annual yearbook — a comprehensive look at publicly-funded preschool programs — and found a mix of progress and stagnation: There are more preschool spots, but states aren’t investing enough in program quality. This year’s assessment also includes a special report on Dual Language Learners. “Recent changes […]
Six things to watch for in 2018
Posted in Business and economy, MA governor, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Philanthropy, Pre-kindergarten, Research, Strategies for Children on January 11, 2018|
A guest blog by Chris Martes, president and CEO of Strategies for Children. We’re keeping an eye on early education trends, and we think there are six important things to watch for in 2018. • FY19 state budget advocacy Will the Governor and the Legislature continue their support for the early childhood education workforce? […]
State House Hearing – Massachusetts Communities are Ready for Preschool
Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Dept. of Elementary and Secondary Education, Early educators, Family engagement, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Professional development & preparation, Strategies for Children on June 22, 2017|
A guest post by Chris Martes, President and CEO of Strategies for Children Tuesday was a sunny June day, so you may have missed the State House hearing on a range of early education and care bills. Amy O’Leary and I — along with our colleagues from cities and towns and other organizations — testified […]