Proposed child care grant funding allows programs to invest in educators – Boston Globe
By Adria Watson
The bright pink beads wrapped around the ends of 4-year-old Alisha’s braids and swung around her face every time she moved around to share her work with the state’s top education leader who was sprawled on the floor like a big kid across from her.
She turned a mini robot about in her hands, moving it this way and that, imploring it to work. Small blocks with barcodes that lined up neatly in a row beside her held the power to make it move. She scanned each one, seeking help from her teacher to determine if her selections were correct, until the robot turned on.
That level of engagement is why Education Secretary Patrick Tutwiler and Amy Kershaw, the Department of Early Education and Care acting commissioner, visited Horizons for Homeless Children in Roxbury on Tuesday. The pair advocated for funding that could provide the state’s youngest learners quality early education similar to Alisha’s.
Governor Maura Healey’s budget which was rolled out last week commits $475 million for Commonwealth Cares for Children grants for child care providers, effectively extending a program that was supported entirely with federal relief funds last fiscal year. A mix of state and federal dollars funded the grants this year. Under Healey’s plan, state money would fully cover the program next year.