Thursday, May 26, 2022
10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Dear Early Education & Care Colleagues,
We want to provide you with an important update on COVID-19 protocols.
In partnership with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services, Department of Public Health, and Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, EEC has developed joint isolation and quarantine guidance for all programs serving children in child care, grades K-12, out-of-school time programs and recreational camp settings. This guidance aims to keep children in programs and in school as much as possible while promoting health and safety.
The scholarship provides financial assistance for you if you are a currently employed early education and care and afterschool and out of school time educator or provider enrolled in a certificate, associate, bachelor or master's degree program in Early Childhood Education, Child Development, Family Studies, Child Care Administration or fields that directly name early child development and its specific areas of inquiry.
The following courses are now available!
Published November 16, 2021
EEC’s formula development team will be sharing the final Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) formula and how your feedback over the last 6 months has helped shape it.
The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the Department of Public Health (DPH) recognize the challenges in operating a robust, high-quality early care and education program during a global pandemic. These Protocols and Guidelines are to support educators, program administrators and families navigate the decision-making necessary when a child or staff member gets sick.
This replaces the COVID-19 Child Care Playbook to support the implementation of best practices for health and safety in child care settings.
EEC has also released Frequently Asked Questions to continue to respond to some of the common questions we have received. We strongly encourage all child care providers to become familiar with the revised COVID-19 Mitigation Protocols and Guidelines for Child Care and to update their policies accordingly.
Massachusetts has received $314 Million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization funds aimed at providing economic relief to child care programs impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic across the country. The Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) will be responsible for distributing these funds to child care providers across the Commonwealth.
The application for EEC’s ARPA Child Care Stabilization funds opens on August 3, 2021.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis.
Department of Early Education & Care (EEC) will be offering No-Cost COVID-19 drive-through testing for the child care community at locations across Massachusetts. Get Tested. Testing for COVID-19 is widely available in Massachusetts and critically important to preventing the spread.
The pandemic has had incredible impacts on our field, and it has also revealed, again, the centrality of early education and care to the economic stability and wellbeing of the Commonwealth and its families. Though 2020 has demanded creativity and innovation from all of us, EEC continues to be committed to achieving the mission and vision we created in deep partnership with educators, programs, and community members across Massachusetts.
MassAIMH has collected several resources that mental health professionals may find helpful during this challenging time.
Building Relationships, Healthy Communication, and Safe Environments Through Social Emotional Supports . Join us, the Pyramid Model Consortium and Massachusetts Pyramid Model Coaches, in a 4-part Peer Learning Community as we examine how to turn current challenges into opportunities to support the social and emotional wellness of children, families and staff. These PLCs are sponsored by the MA Department of Early Education and Care.
Through Mindful Mondays, MASFEC provides an opportunity for educators to connect and engage in mindfulness practices. This program is for educators only.
From Boston Children's Hospital: Get expert insight, advice, and tips for talking about COVID-19 with your kids and helping your whole family cope during these uncertain times.
HealthyChildren.org is the only parenting website backed by 67,000 pediatricians committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults.
Building young minds and the future of Massachusetts.
The STEM Sprouts Teaching Guide and Parent Tip Sheets began as products of collaboration among National Grid, Boston Children’s Museum, and WGBH. The goal of this guide is to assist educators in focusing and refining the naturally inquisitive behaviors of three to five-year-olds on science, technology, engineering, and math. It includes general information on how young children explore science topics as well as specific activity suggestions that align with the Massachusetts state guidelines for STEM teaching in early childhood.
Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, launched in 2004, promotes high quality research in child care and early education to support policy making. Our vision is for children to receive quality care and have rich learning experiences while their families receive support so that they can work. This website includes research and data resources for researchers, policy makers, practitioners, and others.
Child Care Aware® of America works with more than 400 state and local Child Care Resource and Referral agencies nationwide. To achieve our mission, our organization leads projects that increase the quality and availability of child care, undertakes research, and advocates child care policies that positively impact the lives of children and families.
The CDA® is a credential that early childhood educators can earn to demonstrate certain competencies and, in turn, can help them advance their careers. The Child Development Associate credential is carefully administered to ensure that those who earn it know how to put important ECE understandings into practice. Our CDA educators know how to nurture the emotional, physical, intellectual and social development of children.
From Preschool to Post-Secondary education, The Executive Office of Education works to connect all of Massachusetts residents with an education that creates opportunities.
The Massachusetts Association for Infant Mental Health (MassAIMH) is a non-profit interdisciplinary, professional statewide organization established to promote and support the optimal development of infants, very young children, and families through relationship-focused workforce development and advocacy efforts.
We recognize the vital importance of the foundational early years of development and that families need and deserve the support necessary in order to be able to nurture their children. Like you, we are providers and professionals serving young children and families and are dedicated to promoting healthy social and emotional development in the earliest stages and relationships of life.
MCAAP is committed to the attainment of optimal physical, mental and social health for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. To this end, the members of the MCAAP dedicate their efforts and resources. The MCAAP is a member organization of over 1,700 pediatricians, pediatric residents, medical students and affiliates who are dedicated to advocating for Massachusetts children and pediatricians.
The Department of Early Education and Care's mission is to support the healthy growth and development of children by providing high quality programs and resources for families and communities.
From Preschool to Post-Secondary education, The Executive Office of Education works to connect all of Massachusetts residents with an education that creates opportunities.
The mission of the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is to promote and enhance access to higher education by delivering quality student financial aid information and services to residents of the Commonwealth, and thus ensuring that they have an opportunity to enrich their lives and contribute to the economic development and social progress of the state.
The Massachusetts StrongStart Professional Development Centers provide professional development and learning, and program development and quality improvement training for the state’s 9,000 licensed early care and education programs and 70,000 early educators. Services are delivered through five Professional Development Centers located in the Western, Central, Northeast, Southeast, and Metro Boston regions of the state.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is a professional membership organization that works to promote high-quality early learning for all young children, birth through age 8, by connecting early childhood practice, policy, and research. We advance a diverse, dynamic early childhood profession and support all who care for, educate, and work on behalf of young children.
Started in 1982, the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC) is the only national professional association dedicated to promoting high-quality early childhood experiences in the unique environment of family child care programs. NAFCC works on behalf of the one million family child care providers operating nationwide.
The National AfterSchool Association is the voice of the afterschool profession. We are the national membership organization for professionals who work with and on behalf of children and youth during out-of-school time.
NAA’s mission is to promote development, provide education and encourage advocacy for the out-of-school-time community to further the afterschool profession.
We exist to inspire, connect and equip afterschool professionals.
The Office of Child Care (OCC) supports low-income working families by improving access to affordable, high-quality early care and afterschool programs. OCC administers the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)—a block grant to state, territory and tribal governments that provides support for children and their families with paying for child care that will fit their needs and that will prepare children to succeed in school.
The mission of the Massachusetts Office of Student Financial Assistance (OSFA) is to promote and enhance access to higher education by delivering quality student financial aid information and services to residents of the Commonwealth, and thus ensuring that they have an opportunity to enrich their lives and contribute to the economic development and social progress of the state.
Educators working in programs serving children from birth through school age, regardless of setting, can create an individual educator profile in the PQ Registry. EEC encourages all educators to take advantage of the PQ Registry, including those who work in public preschools and other programs that are not subject to EEC licensure.
Strategies for Children works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life.
WGBH offers the richest collection of educational media available in the US to teachers and students around the world, entirely for free. By tapping into PBS Learning Media, teachers can travel with their students into black holes, conduct science experiments using real data, and learn about cultures from Korea to Kenya. Outside the classroom, children can engage with a rich array of resources designed to expose them to the wonders of numbers and letters, encourage curiosity about the natural world, and help them practice the social and emotional skills they’ll need to navigate the world successfully.
ZERO TO THREE works to ensure that babies and toddlers benefit from the early connections that are critical to their well-being and development.
The Institute for Education and Professional Development, Inc.
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