Grants
New Investment Profile
Eos investment June 2011
Massachusetts has more than 60,000 pre-school age children and families in low-income households where poverty may put children at risk for physical, social, cognitive, and other developmental delays. Even with early childhood education programs, some children may not get the stable foundation they need if their care-givers and teachers can't rise to the challenge due to their own educational and economic limitations. It's not an even playing field, even long before these children enter the state's educational system. That's where the Bessie Tartt Wilson Initiative for Children steps in. Children and families across Massachusetts benefit from BTWIC's unrelenting focus on research and advocacy, particularly as they target the needs of educators. In realizing the impact of education that builds on a strong foundation, BTWIC identifies and advocates for the implementation of strategies to improve young children's chances for success in pre-school, and advances policy reforms that support high-quality early education for all children.
The work of BTWIC engages child care providers, early educators, policy makers, economists, and others. Since 2002, BTWIC has worked to forge strong alliances between these groups to advance the conversation and implement changes. In 2009, they launched the Early Education Workforce Access and Advocacy Initiative, convening town meetings with more than 600 early educators to address the stressors that stand in the way of their vital work. The task force that resulted from this initiative was the first public/private partnership in the state in more than a decade to address issues of compensation, and drove several significant proposals, including a career ladder program within the Department of Early Education and Care, a permanent early education fund, and a loan forgiveness program for early educators. Today, their work affects more than 25,000 low-income early educators across the state, and will grow in scale and impact as these proposals move ahead through advocacy and ongoing research.
The Eos Foundation has been proud to provide funding that supports the BTWIC Early Education Workforce Access and Advocacy Initiative and the work to improve the quality of early education across the state.
Please visit the BTWIC website, and download and read their Blueprint for Eearly Education Compensation Reform (PDF).
