Members of our Advocacy Network have been busy attending the Healey-Driscoll Administration’s Early Education and Child Care Task Force listening sessions.
As its website explains, this task force is “a key part of the Healey-Driscoll administration’s ‘Gateway to Pre-k’ agenda and is taking a whole-of-government approach to ensuring affordable, high-quality child care.”
The listening sessions have been a vital, face-to-face way for early childhood professionals to talk to government officials, including Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler and Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw.
As Tutwiler explained when the listening sessions were being launched, “Engaging directly with communities through these listening sessions will enable us to better understand and address the challenges and opportunities within early education and care.”
Follow Secretary Tutwiler on his X (formerly Twitter) account to see his posts on the listening sessions.
We’re proud to say that our Advocacy Network was well represented at these sessions.
Missy Tarjick and Sarah Muil attended a listening session in Western Massachusetts where the challenges to creating a thriving early childhood system include staff retention, income eligibility for child care, and transportation.
Emily O’Brien attended a virtual listening session and said she was glad to “hear the voices of so many people who deeply care for early education. It was inspiring to learn about each person’s story and how grants, such as CPPI and C3, support their high-quality programs, educators, and children and their families.”
Paula A. Echeverri Durango and Harold Blanco attended a listening session in Springfield, and shared their experiences as providers both at the session and on LinkedIn.
And Jade Oliver attended a listening session at Bunker Hill Community College in Boston, and shared the experience on LinkedIn.
And while the listening sessions are over, you can still provide feedback by using a survey that’s available in multiple languages. The deadline for responding is Friday, August 23rd. So whether or not you’re a member of our Advocacy Network, please join us in sharing your ideas with Governor Maura Healey and her team.
And if you’d like to be a member of our Advocacy Network, be sure to check out this blog and our flier to learn more!