Please join us for Advocacy Day for Early Ed & Care and School Age programs – next Tuesday morning, March 14, 2023, in the Great Hall at the Massachusetts State House!

Registration starts at 9:30 a.m.

The program of speakers starts at 10 a.m.

Meetings with state legislators start at 11:15 a.m.

And, of course, there’s the excitement of getting to meet with hundreds of other early childhood professionals.

Check out the RSVP page for more info.

And click here for related materials, including social media hashtags.

In previous years, Advocacy Day has had a celebratory mood, created by early educators who understand the power of speaking as a group and asking policymakers to create more affordable, high-quality early childhood programs for families. You can read more about that in our past Advocacy Day blogs.

This year, it’s also crucial to point out some troubling facts. Programs are closing. Early educators are leaving the field. Too many children aren’t enrolled in high-quality programs. And parents can’t find the child care they need to work, which means employers can’t find the workers they need to do business.

The good news is that Massachusetts is investing in the future, continuing to support the stabilization of programs after the hard blow of Covid, and laying the groundwork for more innovations.

Advocates across the state can help by encouraging this momentum and sharing a vision for the growth that’s called for in the recently released Early Childhood Agenda.

For more information, contact Amy O’Leary, Strategies for Children’s executive director, at aoleary@strategiesforchildren.org and Bill Eddy, executive director of the Massachusetts Association of Early Education & Care, at billeddy@madca.org.

And please join us at the State House if you can. If you can’t attend in person, you can still join the advocacy effort remotely. Email Amy O’Leary to learn how.