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Archive for the ‘Dept. of Early Education and Care’ Category

MA Early Educator Scholarship Applications Available

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators on April 26, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Photo: Kate Samp for Strategies for Children

As research demonstrates, the quality of teaching is a critical ingredient of the quality of early education and care programs. Research also indicates that children benefit from early educators with bachelor’s degrees and specialized training. Acting on this evidence, in 2005 Massachusetts established the Early Childhood Educators Scholarship, which has awarded more than 5,000 grants to early educators pursuing college degrees.

Applications for the coming 2012-13 academic year are now available. Here is the notice from the Department of Early Education and Care:

Dear Early Childhood and Out-of-School-Time Educators,

The Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) and the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) are pleased to announce the release of the 2012-2013 Early Childhood Educators (ECE) Scholarship application. The ECE Scholarship is accessible through OSFA’s website (www.osfa.mass.edu) under the Financial Aid Programs heading.

The scholarship is designed to provide financial assistance for currently employed early childhood and out-of-school-time educators and providers who enroll in an associate or bachelor degree program in early childhood education or a related field.  The ECE Scholarship is awarded on a first come, first served basis; educators who have received the scholarship in the past must still complete the new online application for the 2012-2013 academic year. Educators interested in the ECE Scholarship must also complete the 2012-2013 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/).

All required application forms must be submitted by the June 1, 2012 priority deadline to be considered.  Applications received after the June 1, 2012 priority date will be considered based on the availability of funds. For more information please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions posted on the application website or contact the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance at 617-727-9420.

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Brain Building in Progress Week is Here

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Family engagement on April 24, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Brain Building in Progress Week is underway! Across Massachusetts early education and care programs and others are celebrating the national Week of the Young Child by highlighting the critical role that high-quality early learning settings play in the healthy development of young children’s brains. See the video above for a message from Commissioner Sherri Killins of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).

On Thursday, state officials and education leaders will read books with children from Associated Early Care and Education in an event at the State House. Lieutenant Governor Timothy Murray will attend and present a state proclamation designating April 22-28 Brain Building in Progress Week.

“I commend our parents, educators, families, and communities for the incredibly important work they do each and every day to foster our youngest citizens’ healthy brain development,” Lieutenant Governor Murray said in an EEC news release. “Everyone can play a role to collectively enrich and support a child’s positive growth and learning.  I look forward to seeing this exciting momentum continue in the months and years to come.”

Activities planned around the state include parades, community celebrations with activities for families of young children, visits from local leaders to early education and care programs, concerts and a community baby shower.

The week is part of a larger Brain Building in Progress public awareness campaign launched last year by EEC and the United Way.

“I commend the Brain Building in Progress Campaign for bringing awareness to the importance of investing in quality early education and care, as this plays a critical role in closing the achievement gap,” Representative Alice H. Peisch,  co-chair of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Education, said in the news release. “The public and private sector must work together to ensure that quality early learning opportunities be made affordable and available to all children throughout the commonwealth.”

The Week of the Young Child™ is an annual celebration of early learning that the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) has sponsored since 1971.

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At the April EEC Board Meeting

Posted in Assessments, Dept. of Early Education and Care, QRIS on April 23, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care voted at its April meeting to revise child care subsidy regulations, effective July 1. Roughly 56,000 children currently receive state financial assistance for early education and care.

The vote came a year after the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) released proposed amendments for public comment. The regulations approved last week encompass both substantive and technical changes to subsidy regulations and reflect feedback received over the past year. (See the PowerPoint presentation EEC Regulation Reform: Subsidy Revisions and Final Draft.) One substantive change requires children benefiting from state subsidies to regularly attend their early education and care programs or risk termination. Another changes the methodology for determining the eligibility of self-employed parents. The EEC board, in its April 10 vote, approved the proposed regulation revisions, with two amendments. The first amendment stipulated how parents whose children receive child care subsidies may include study time in calculating their eligibility. The second amendment called for EEC Commissioner Sherri Killins to return to the board within 90 days with a management plan for the subsidy appeal process.

The board also heard a presentation — Alignment of Inclusive Preschool Learning Environments with the Quality Rating and Improvement System ( QRIS) – about state-funded grants designed to support creating inclusive environments for preschool children with disabilities. Proposed conditions for fiscal year 2013 (more…)

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MA House Ways and Means Committee Releases FY13 Budget Proposal

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Full-day kindergarten, MA Legislature, MA state budget on April 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

On Wednesday, April 11, the Massachusetts House Ways and Means (HWM) Committee released its recommendations for $32.3 billion in state appropriations for the fiscal year 2013 (FY13) budget. The proposal, which addresses a projected $1.3 billion budget gap, does not call for any new taxes or fees, and makes use of one-time revenue sources such as the state Stabilization Fund.
The House Ways and Means Committee’s recommended budget:

  • Level funds the Universal Pre-Kindergarten program at $7.5 million
  • Level funds the Head Start at $7.5 million
  • Level funds early childhood mental health consultation services in early education and care programs at $750,000
  • Reduces funding for overall child care subsidies by $8.1 million from FY12 levels
  • Provides overall funding for the Department of Early Education and Care of $487 million, compared with $495 million in FY12
  • Increases funding for the full-day kindergarten grant program administered by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to $24.95 million, a $2 million increase over FY12 appropriations
  • Allocates $86.5 million for the Massachusetts State Scholarship Program, which includes the Early Childhood Educator Scholarship. The State Scholarship Program, which is administered by the Department of Higher Education, was funded at $87.6 million in FY12.

The HWM budget recommendation does not fund the early literacy initiative for family child care providers that Governor Patrick included in his proposed Gateway Cities Education Agenda. It also does not fund a rate increase for early education and care providers serving subsidized children.

Click here for more information about the HWM Committee’s recommendations for programs administered by the Department of Early Education and Care and for other line items related to high-quality early education.

State representatives have until Friday, April 13, at 5 p.m. to file amendments to the House Ways and Means budget. The House will begin debate on the budget the week of April 23.

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At the March EEC Board Meeting

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care on March 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care held its March meeting at Westfield State University after touring Square One’s early education center on King Street in Springfield. Amy O’Leary, director of our Early Education for All Campaign, and Emily Levine, our research and policy analyst, were there.

One highlight of the morning, EEC Chairman J.D. Chesloff noted in his opening remarks, was the presentation of a $15,000 check from TD Bank to Square One during the board’s visit. Square One, Chesloff added, has also been able to retain its Kindergarten Enrichment Excellence Program, a collaboration between public school teachers and early educators designed to ease the transition to kindergarten that was originally funded with federal stimulus money. EEC Commissioner Sherri Killins commended Square One director Joan Kagan for her work on obesity prevention and nutrition, which Square One has shared with other programs. Square One, as Chesloff and Killins remarked, is also in the process of rebuilding facilities lost or damaged in last year’s tornado.

The board approved the 2012 performance evaluation of Commissioner Killins, which ranked her highly effective. Reviews cited her strong work ethic, commitment and productivity as well as her implementation of the board’s strategic plan.

Also on the agenda, Jay Swanson, EEC policy analyst, updated the board on the Transportation Working Group of stakeholders convened in December by Commissioner Killins. The working group was charged with providing feedback on the recommendations of the Special Committee on Transportation that Chesloff formed earlier in the fall  to review the statutes, regulations and policies regarding the transportation of children to and from early education and care providers. Swanson’s PowerPoint and other materials from the March meeting should be posted here soon.

The board also heard an update on rural community support grants, a project of the State Advisory Council, whose five areas of focus include on birth-to-age 8 community planning and PreK-3rd partnerships. The SAC is implementing $1.3 million in projects over a three-year period that ends September 2013. The rural community support grants focus on strategic planning and assessment, screening and curriculum. For more information, check back here.

The board meets next on April 10, 1-4 p.m., at a location in southeastern Massachusetts that has not yet been determined.

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Massachusetts Defines High-Needs Children

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early Learning Challenge on March 6, 2012 | 2 Comments »

Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children

When she describes Massachusetts’ successful application for a federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grant, Commissioner Sherri Killins of the Department of Early Education and Care often talks of identifying – and serving – all of the commonwealth’s young children with high needs.

Who, precisely, are high-needs children? The Massachusetts Early Learning Plan detailed in the state’s ELC application offers a definition that incorporates risk factors beyond a family’s low-income status. “Being low-income alone doesn’t make you high-needs,” Killins said recently.

First, some background. The goal of the Early Learning Challenge is “to better prepare more children with high needs for kindergarten because children from birth to age 5, including those from low-income families, need a strong foundation for success in school and beyond,” according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Education.

The Obama administration gave states flexibility to create their own definitions of high-needs children, within this general  guideline:  “Children with high needs means children from birth through kindergarten entry who are from low-income families or otherwise in need of special assistance and support, including children who have disabilities or developmental delays; who are English learners; who reside on ‘Indian lands’ as that term is defined by section 8013(6) of the ESEA; who are migrant, homeless, or in foster care; and other children as identified by the state.”

The Massachusetts definition of high needs includes children with multiple risk factors:

  • Children and parents with special needs
  • Children whose home language is not English
  • Families and children involved with multiple state agencies
  • English language learners
  • Recent immigrants
  • Children whose parents are deployed and who do not live on a military base
  • Low-income households
  • Parents with less than a high school education
  • Children who are homeless or move more than once a year

As many as 135,000 Massachusetts children, from birth to age 5, face one or more risk factors each day, the state estimates. Up to 20,000 children have three or more risk factors and, without intervention, are likely to suffer developmental delays, according to the Young Child Risk Calculator of the National Center for Children in Poverty.

A clear definition of high needs will give a more accurate picture of the commonwealth’s young children and help the state target services to ensure children’s health development and school readiness.

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“Creating a Culture of Quality” for Early Education

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators, Early Learning Challenge, Head Start, NAEYC, Professional development & preparation, QRIS on February 28, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Amy O'Leary visits Boston preschool (Photo: Kate Samp for Strategies for Children)

My colleague Amy O’Leary, director of our Early Education for All Campaign, tells a story that illustrates how far the field of early education and care has come over the past several years.

Amy has been going to meetings of the Boston Alliance for Early Education  since she was a preschool director in Boston’s South End neighborhood in the 1990s. “It was originally designed as a support group for directors,” Amy recalls. “The conversation often focused on overflowing toilets and the day-to-day logistical challenges of running a center.”

Much has changed since then, not the least of which came in December 2011 when Massachusetts was named one of only nine states awarded a federal Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grant. Back in 2005, Massachusetts merged its child care and early education agencies to create the nation’s first consolidated Department of Early Education and Care. The same year it established the Early Childhood Educators Scholarship. In 2006, the state created the Universal Pre-Kindergarten grant program to support and sustain quality. Head Start and the National Association for the Education of Young Children, an accrediting body, started to phase in bachelor degree requirements for early educators. In 2011, Massachusetts launched an evidence-based Quality Rating and Improvement System, which defines tiers of quality that include teacher education and training, curriculum, and assessment.

With these changes, the conversations have changed, too. (more…)

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At the February EEC Board Meeting

Posted in Assessments, Dept. of Early Education and Care, Family engagement on February 22, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

The Massachusetts Board of Early Education and Care last week unanimously approved a measure to align the Massachusetts Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) grant program with the Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) that the commonwealth launched in January 2011. (See UPK-QRIS PowerPoint.)

The board also approved the annual report to the Legislature from the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), discussed progress toward creating a Massachusetts Kindergarten Entry Assessment, and reviewed the goals and priorities of the Coordinated Family and Community Engagement  network.

UPK grants, which were established in 2005, are designed to support and sustain quality in early education settings for preschool-aged children. The grant program currently serves about 6,400 children in almost 400 classrooms across the state. The QRIS defines tiers of quality in early education and care and out-of-school-time programs for children from birth to school age.

In public testimony before the board vote, Amy O’Leary, director of Early Education for All, a campaign of Strategies for Children, supported the proposal but sounded a few cautionary notes. (more…)

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MA Governor Releases FY13 Budget Proposal

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, MA governor, MA state budget on January 26, 2012 | 1 Comment »

Governor Patrick

Yesterday Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick released a $32.3 billion budget recommendation for fiscal year 2013 that includes $260 million in new revenues generated, in part, by taxing the sale of candy and soda, raising the cigarette tax, and expanding the bottle bill.

While the governor’s budget level funds many items related to early education and care, Patrick, in his budget message, noted that one of his “tough choices” was to limit funding of child care vouchers for children in low-income families. The governor’s budget would increase funding for full-day kindergarten grants by $3 million. The Gateway Cities Education Agenda, a $10 million initiative in the Executive Office of Education, includes a $575,000 Gateway Cities Early Literacy Programs line item, targeted to professional development for family child care providers and support for families whose children are enrolled in family child care programs.

Click here for details on early education and care items in the governor’s FY13 budget recommendations. Here are some highlights: (more…)

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MA Plans Awards for Outstanding Early Educators

Posted in Dept. of Early Education and Care, Early educators on January 25, 2012 | Leave a Comment »

Photo: Alessandra Hartkopf for Strategies for Children

High-quality early education makes a difference in children’s lives. This is what the research says, again and again. Research also says that the quality of the early educator is a key determinant of the quality of a child’s early learning experience. The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care plans to recognize this connection by recognizing “exceptional educators and instructional leaders.” The department will present awards to 10 educators and instructional leaders in each of its six regions. Applications are due March 5.

Here’s what the department said in announcing the award program: (more…)

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