The need for a sustained, targeted improvement of Massachusetts early education programs is captured by some disturbing numbers from 2011.
According to research done by the Children’s Investment Fund, 20 percent of facilities had one or more classrooms with no windows. A third had inadequate heating and cooling. Two-thirds lacked sufficient technology for teachers.
That’s why the re-authorization of the Early Education and Out-of-School Time Capital Fund (EEOST Capital Fund) in the state’s housing bond bill is such important news.
The new emphasis on better early education will benefit low-income families as well as others. It addresses the need to get an early start to the education of children, because the price of not doing so has proven to be steep: neglect of the early years puts children at such a disadvantage that some of them never catch up.
Quality education at any level involves personnel, an applicable philosophy and other considerations. It must also provide for adequate facilities. This bill addresses that need in a state where more than 20,000 children are stuck on waiting lists for early education or after-school care.
Since its original passage in 2013, the EEOST Capital Fund has distributed more than $15 million to 21 projects. Communities experiencing its benefits include Chicopee, Belchertown and North Adams.
The political challenge of funding early education and its after-school component is that it does not produce immediate, easily identifiable results. Those benefits come later with better education and more well-adjusted children emerging into adolescence and, down the road, adulthood.
If the benefits of upgraded early education are not immediate, however, the cost of neglecting it has been all too painfully clear. That’s why improvement in this field has won bipartisan support and a commitment to see it to success, even at an economically challenging time with many education needs tugging at the state’s resources and budget.
Better early education and after-school care is not achieved with one sweeping measure, but by an extended commitment over time. The Baker Administration and the Legislature seem to understand that are are prepared to see it through.
It’s the right approach that is already showing dividends and with time will show more. The latest measure is not the last step in that process, but upgrading facilities is a crucial component that the Early Education and Out-of-School Time Capital Fund will address, and not a moment too soon.
Build-a-Garden, a program of The Food Project, gives third-graders in eight Lynn elementary schools a hands-on opportunity to plant seeds, tend their gardens, and harvest the greens to eat. “What never fails to amaze me about the gardens is just how excited kids get about eating the food they grew,” says James Harrison, The Food Project’s executive director. “Kids who may otherwise not think of themselves as liking vegetables start coming back for seconds and thirds!” Our grant will help fund the building of 100 new raised-bed gardens in urban backyards and community spaces, while supporting 750 existing gardens built in previous years.
Let’s Take It Outside (LTIO), a training program designed by the Children’s Investment Fund, helps early education and after-school organizations create safe, healthy, and developmentally appropriate outdoor play and learning spaces. It is based on the principle that physically strenuous play contributes to healthy brain development, enhances learning, and improves memory. “All children deserve access to high-quality play opportunities that fuel their minds, bodies, and imaginations,” says Theresa Jordan, Director of Children’s Facilities Finance. But, as she points out, many early education and after-school organizations have limited resources. “Our training helps organizations accelerate their vision for a new or improved outdoor play space by connecting them with the knowledge and resources they need.”
Fit Church/Fit Community, an initiative of the Black Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, partners with congregations in low-income, minority neighborhoods to improve health outcomes for local residents. Their objective is to reduce health disparities in the black community, particularly in the urban congregations of Boston and the local communities they serve, using a three-pronged strategy: (1) improve eating habits (2) increase physical activity, and (3) promote regular access to health care. Reverend David Wright, executive director for the Alliance, says that the Blue Cross grant has given their network of local churches the ability to build stronger health resources within their communities. “We use health fairs to connect community members to critical health information and to local health centers where necessary,” he says. “Our Zumba classes, family fun days, and walking clubs help our neighbors increase their physical activity in community settings that also promote the building of relationships.”