Affordable Childcare
May 10, 2024
Representative Katherine Clark understands the critical role quality child care plays in making our communities and economy work, “We are in the middle of a paradigm shift that really started with the pandemic exposing the fragility of this system and making the connection that this is not a luxury...
May 8, 2024
Cheers to 140 years! Edward Street is celebrating 140 years of helping young children and the caregivers who serve them in Central Massachusetts. Today, we'd like to share some of the stories of Edward Street from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s — and how we continue to grow and evolve. Edward Street...
April 5, 2024
Recently, more than half of the 8,323 childcare providers in Massachusetts were told they'll receive less money than they originally expected from the state in May and June. This is due to adjustments to Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant payments to remain within the state's budget...
March 11, 2024
Have a child? You may soon be able to save more money thanks to an expanded federal tax credit. At Edward Street, we're all about helping families access high quality childcare and early education services without breaking their budgets. Today, we're looking at the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and what...
February 20, 2024
"This is a shared priority, and as such all of us should be part of the solution. Building a quality early education and care system that is affordable and available is not only the right thing to do for our people but also for our economy. We need to address the labor issue in EEC not only for...
February 16, 2024
The "Gateway to Pre-K" agenda is designed to "fundamentally transform" early education in Massachusetts. But how exactly? At Edward Street, we're excited about Gateway to Pre-K — and today, we're breaking down the agenda and explaining what it means for parents and educators. What Is the Gateway to...
January 18, 2024
“Covid gave us a bit of a gift. We had to cooperate and operate outside of silos to figure out how support and success could be achieved. It gave us this whole new level of permission,” Kim Davenport, vice president of Initiatives & Aligned Programs at Edward Street, says. “The question became...
November 30, 2023
For 140 years, we have advocated for quality early education and care in the community. Looking back, three issues persist. In fact, they are almost the same. Why is it, 140 years later, that we are still fighting the same battles? Why don’t these problems have solutions? Our board members...
October 30, 2023
When it comes to finding solutions to childcare issues in our local community, the research has been done and the conversations have been had. Now, thanks to the Equity from the Start Forum and support from families and community leaders, research is being turned into action Dodi Swope, the Project...
October 20, 2023
While the state has made some investment in stabilizing the early education field, programs still struggle to attract staff and invest in permanent wage increases. “No employer is going to increase wages one year when they can’t guarantee to keep it in subsequent years,” said Eve Gilmore, CEO of...