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Archive for the ‘Facilities’ Category

Investing in renovations that help keep children safe during COVID-19

Posted in Child care, COVID-19, Facilities, Massachusetts Cities and Towns on November 10, 2020| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Tatiana Syrikova from Pexels

This year, the Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund is focusing on helping EEOST programs cope with the demands of keeping children healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Created in 2013, the fund distributes grants to “finance new construction and renovation” projects that can include classrooms, restrooms, buildings, and outdoor spaces. The fund is administered by the Children’s Investment Fund, an affiliate of the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC), and by the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

Now, the fund, “will award grants between $100,000 and $250,000… for capital improvements related to the COVID-19 public health emergency.” The grants are smaller than usual so that more programs will benefit.

“We know that child care providers are facing tremendous strain because of the COVID pandemic. Many are modifying their spaces to continue to provide early education services to families safely,” the fund says in a blog post. “Being able to have the flexibility to use the resources available through the EEOST Capital Fund to meet their needs and strengthen the Commonwealth’s childcare infrastructure is important, as many families rely on child care to return to work.” (more…)

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Beyond the pandemic: an early education and care roadmap

Posted in Child care, Cost and affordability, COVID-19, Early educators, Facilities, Federal, Funding, National, Professional development & preparation, Strategies for Children on September 24, 2020| 2 Comments »

Right after the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, early childhood education (ECE) advocates were dealing with the immediate crisis and, simultaneously, talking about what the global health crisis would mean for the future.

“We wanted to create a space for that conversation,” Albert Wat, a senior policy director at the Alliance for Early Success, said on a recent Strategies for Children Zoom call.

“We met almost weekly for four months,” Wat says of the 13 states and eight national organizations who joined the conversation. Strategies for Children, an Alliance grantee, represented Massachusetts. “We didn’t want to limit ourselves to current fiscal and policy constraints.”

Instead the group talked about a “North star,” an untethered vision of what the country could do to rebuild child care.

“We wanted to be bold, but we also wanted to be pragmatic,” Wat said.

The result is “Build Stronger: A Child Care Policy Roadmap for Transforming Our Nation’s Child Care System.” (more…)

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Get ready for Advocacy Day: Thursday, March 5, 2020

Posted in Early educators, Facilities, Family engagement, MA Legislature, Strategies for Children on February 25, 2020| 3 Comments »

It is time to get ready for Advocacy Day!

This year, Advocacy Day for Early Education & Care and School Age Programs will be on Thursday, March 5, 2020, at 9:30 a.m. at the Massachusetts State House.

Please note that there are two ways to participate!

You can go to the State House.

Or:

You can participate from your early education and care program.

Click on one of the two links above to let us know how you will be participating.

To get ready for Advocacy Day, be sure to register for the next Strategies for Children Advocacy 101 webinar — Getting Ready for Advocacy Day for Early Education & Care and School Age Programs — which will be held online on Wednesday, February 26 at 1:30 p.m. Click here to RSVP.

(You can learn more about the first Advocacy 101 webinar here.)

We will share more details about how to participate from your program and what to expect if you are coming to the State House. We’ll also record the webinar, so you can listen anytime.

As we prepare, here is what you can do now:

• Visit www.WhereDoIVoteMA.com to find your elected officials and print out the page with your information. Just enter your home address and you will get all the information you need!

• If you are going to come to the State House, call your legislator’s office and schedule an appointment to meet with them.

• Share information about Advocacy Day with your colleagues and with families in your program. And please make sure each person registers, so we can share information with everyone who is interested.

Legislators need to hear the voices of educators, family child care providers, and families!

We are excited about building on the momentum that Advocacy Day has generated in past years, including last year and the year before.

If you have any questions, please contact Amy O’Leary, director of Strategies for Children’s Early Education for All campaign, at aoleary@strategiesforchildren.org or (617) 330-7384.

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In quotes: Investing in early education facilities

Posted in Facilities, Quotes, Strategies for Children on November 22, 2019| Leave a Comment »

In 2013, the Massachusetts Legislature approved a bond bill that included the new Early Education and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund. The fund provides grants to programs that want to repair or renovate their spaces — everything from fixing roofs to adding more classroom space.

“Along with many others, I helped to advocate for the reauthorization of the bond bill in 2018 which included the EEOST Capital Fund. It has been absolutely AMAZING to see the transformation of the programs that have received the funding. The difference is not just in the physical space — it can also be seen and felt in the classroom practices and from positive feedback from educators, administrators, and families. I am so encouraged by the number of programs that are applying for the funds and hope that we will secure annual bond allocations of the full $9 million that was authorized for the EEOST Capital Fund.”

— “Working Together To Invest In High-Quality Early Education And Care,” by Amy O’Leary, Insites, a blog published by the Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation, November 12, 2019

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In quotes: child care is infrastructure

Posted in Child care, Facilities, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes on March 29, 2019| Leave a Comment »

“The country is finally having a serious conversation about how best to care for children during their first five years before they enter school. What is missing from that conversation, however, is an acknowledgement of the abysmal conditions of many of our child care facilities and a commitment to fixing the problem. Parents should be able to leave their children in child care with the understanding that they are in safe and healthy learning environments that support their development — and this is just not happening.

“Luckily for these families, some states are starting to recognize the link between quality of facilities and quality of care.”

“Child care is infrastructure. We should treat it that way,” an opinion piece by Linda K. Smith, Roll Call, March 25, 2019

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In quotes: Educare Springfield

Posted in Early educators, Facilities, Family engagement, Head Start, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes on September 21, 2018| 3 Comments »

Tasheena M. Davis and her son Noah

Earlier this week, officials in Springfield, Mass., broke ground on Educare Springfield, a new early education facility.

How important is this kind of progress? One answer comes from Tasheena M. Davis, a parent who spoke at the ground breaking. Here’s a printed version of what she said: (more…)

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Space matters: Massachusetts invests in improving early education buildings and facilities

Posted in Facilities, Funding, MA governor, MA Legislature, MA state budget, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Pre-kindergarten on September 18, 2018| 3 Comments »

Governor Charlie Baker (directly in front of Curious George) announces new facilities grants at the Crispus Attucks Children’s Center in Dorchester.

This summer, Massachusetts awarded $4 million in grants to help early education and after-school programs improve their physical spaces. The money comes from the Early Education and Care and Out of School Time (EEOST) Capital Fund, which was created by the state Legislature.

As we’ve blogged before, engaging classrooms, lively safe playgrounds, and well-designed bathrooms are some of the key features that create nurturing environments for young children.

But programs often can’t afford the costs of badly needed construction and renovations. That’s why these capital improvement funds are so important.

In a statement, Governor Charlie Baker said, “Renovating and repairing facilities helps achieve our goal of improving the quality of early education and care.” (more…)

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In quotes: more funding for early education facilities

Posted in Facilities, Pre-kindergarten, Quotes on June 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Alyssa Haywoode for Strategies for Childern

“Massachusetts Early Education and Out-of-School Time Leaders Celebrate Passage of Critical Funding to Benefit Low-Income Children: Housing Bond Bill signed today by Governor Baker includes reauthorization of successful capital fund for early education facilities construction and renovation”

“The Commonwealth needs an improved and expanded supply of facilities to meet the demands of families across the state who are looking for convenient, high-quality centers for their children,” said Michael K. Durkin, President and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.

Chris Martes, CEO and President of Strategies for Children added, “What a great day for children, families and programs across the Commonwealth. Facilities are a critical – and often overlooked – element to quality early education and afterschool centers. We have seen such dramatic results and positive outcomes for children from the Early Education and Out-of-School Time Capital Fund know that there is a long list of programs that could use funding.”

Bill Eddy, Executive Director of MADCA, the MA Association for Early Education and Care which represents early education and school age providers who serve low income families across the state, said, “This is an exciting renewal of the Early Education and Out of School Time Facilities Fund with $45m over the next five years to continue to improve the facilities and playgrounds where our youngest children are educated and cared for every day. These facility improvement funds create state-of-the-art spaces designed for young children and allow providers to expand facilities creating additional access to early education for low income children and their families, which also expands our workforce by creating new teaching positions. We are grateful that the Legislature included this once again and we applaud Governor Baker for signing this comprehensive bill with this Early Education Facilities Fund included.”

“EEOST is unique in the country for providing a large-scale public source of funding for facilities,” noted Theresa Jordan, Director of Children’s Facilities Finance for the Children’s Investment Fund. “The reauthorization of an additional five years places Massachusetts further ahead as a national leader in the provision of high-quality early education and care.”

United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley news release, May 31, 2018

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This Month on Backyard Cambridge: Universal Pre-K

Posted in Cost and affordability, Facilities, Massachusetts Cities and Towns, Multimedia, Pre-kindergarten on February 1, 2018| Leave a Comment »

Photo: Kate Samp for Strategies for Children

Early education is making local news thanks to Backyard Cambridge, a podcast launched last year by two Cambridge residents “to strengthen local news and civic engagement.”

This month the podcast covers universal pre-K.

As the story points out, finding the right pre-K program can be like walking into an overcrowded mall with no directory. There are private programs and public programs; vouchers and full-pay options; and child care centers, family child care, and school-based programs.

Money also matters. Parents who can spend more of their income on child care can also afford to hire nannies. Cambridge’s public schools offer “junior kindergarten,” for 4-year-olds, but only for half of the ones who live in the city.

Why should anyone care? (more…)