MA Department of Early Education and Care

Thanks to the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants for putting on last night's informative Know Your Rights presentation, covering legal resources in the Commonwealth and guidance for interaction with immigration and law enforcement officers. Watch the recording here: https://ow.ly/oVIW50V8iG2 (Language translation versions to come)

Learn about the Pyramid Model approach and how it can improve your work with young children. Zoom sessions available by region (no registration required). Find your region at https://ow.ly/mXci50V6bWX

Wonderful to visit Michel De Jesus’ family child care program in Leominster yesterday. Michel is leaning into opportunities like new contracted CCFA seats in her region, professional development, and her new partnership with Clarendon Early Educational Services to provide the high-quality program she’s committed to offering the children and families she serves. Thank you to Michel, your amazing class, and our partners at Clarendon for letting us spend time and play in your beautiful program.

We agree that an investment in child care is good for business, working families and the economy! #WholeOfGovernmentApproachToChildCare Yvonne Hao, Massachusetts Executive Office of Economic Development (EOED) Lauren Jones, The Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development (EOLWD) Patrick Tutwiler, PhD, Massachusetts Executive Office of Education

EEC Commissioner Amy Kershaw was happy to join the MA Department of Higher Education's Board meeting to discuss the importance of an early childhood educator loan repayment program to support recruitment and retention in the Commonwealth’s early education and care field. So grateful for the DHE Board’s unanimous support for the program guidelines and look forward to working together to bring this opportunity to educators.

The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care is closed for the holiday. See you tomorrow!

Thank you to our wonderful partners at MetroWest YMCA in Framingham for hosting our February EEC Board meeting. We were grateful to spend time before the meeting playing and learning with your students and speaking with your dedicated educators and program leaders. Special shout out to the Cardinal Classroom for the custom artwork! Watch the Board meeting recording here: https://lnkd.in/eCBQB-kD Karen Spilka Jack Patrick Lewis Framingham Public Schools Massachusetts Executive Office of Education

“We are sending a message to programs about how important we recognize this funding is to maintain stability and make investments in quality and staff, and to mitigate increases in tuition for families,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw Read about the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) Program in the Boston Globe: https://lnkd.in/eCi69QZ7

EEC's February Board meeting starts at 1 p.m. today Livestream: https://ow.ly/pxX050UUx6i Agenda and materials: https://ow.ly/qhoI50UVXlA

We were grateful to join the Massachusetts Head Start Association at the State House with Head Start staff, early childhood educators, legislators, and community members to show support for our partners doing this critical work, at a critical time, for children and families across the state. Learn more about Head Start in Massachusetts at massheadstart.org