Governor Maura Healey announced an exciting new agenda, “Gateway to Pre-K,” that will expand early education and care programs in Massachusetts’ 26 Gateway Cities and across the state.
“Our ‘Gateway to Pre-K’ agenda will fundamentally transform the early education system in Massachusetts,” Governor Healey says in a press release. “We’re lowering costs for families to enroll their children in child care and Pre-K and ensuring our hardworking providers have the support they need to deliver high-quality care.”
Secretary of Education Patrick Tutwiler says of the governor’s plan, “We know that child care and preschool are critical for the success of our early learners, and provide an essential backbone to our economy by supporting working parents. Our ‘Gateway to Pre-K’ approach is more than an educational prerogative—it’s an economic imperative.”
Gateway to Pre-K has four components:
• providing “universal, high-quality preschool access for four-year-olds in all Gateway Cities by the end of 2026.” This means “Every family of a 4-year-old in these 26 communities will have the opportunity — at a low or no cost — to enroll their child in a high-quality preschool program that prepares them for kindergarten”
• increasing “Child Fare Financial Assistance (CCFA) eligibility from 50 percent of the state median income (SMI) to 85 percent SMI to help an additional 4,000 low-and moderate-income families afford care”
• continuing the “Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grants in FY25, providing stable funding for programs to improve quality, pay facility costs, and hire more staff, thereby creating more classrooms where families can enroll their children in affordable child care,” and
• signing “an executive order to recognize the essential role child care plays in driving the state’s economy and competitiveness forward and directing the Healey-Driscoll administration to take a whole-of-government approach to ensuring affordable, high-quality child care”
The executive order creates an Interagency Task Torce on Ensuring Affordable High-Quality Child Care. As The Boston Globe reports, the executive order directs Healey’s administration “to partner with the business community to work on creative ways to expand access to child care, build new facilities, and reduce costs for families.”
“The Globe first reported on this concept last fall, highlighting a business grant program in Iowa that in two years created nearly 11,000 more spots for the children of working parents. There is a bill in Massachusetts, modeled by business leaders after Iowa’s public-private partnerships, that aims to do the same.”
The executive order also directs the task force to work with “health services stakeholders, housing and planning experts, working parents and caregivers, and child care providers and experts.”
Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the Department of Early Education and Care, points to the long-term benefits for the state, noting, “Early education is foundational to closing the opportunity gap in Massachusetts — bringing economic equity and mobility to families as well as educational opportunities to their children.”
“I am grateful to Governor Healey and Lt. Governor Driscoll for these bold actions and look forward to working in partnership with the Legislature and our diverse network of early education programs, educators, families, and business leaders to move these efforts forward to build an affordable, equitable, and high-quality early education system for all Massachusetts families.”
Strategies for Children
Amy O’Leary, Strategies for Children’s executive director, highlights the impact that Gateway to Pre-K promises to have, saying:
“Today marks a transformative step that builds on decades of progress and a strong foundation for children, families and educators across the Commonwealth. This work demands a multi-sector approach, and we are excited to see this comprehensive proposal that goes beyond traditional boundaries at the state and local level – incorporating education, workforce development and economic development.”
This initiative, O’Leary adds, “will provide significant financial relief to families in the middle class, while also emphasizing our commitment to equity and opportunity for all.”
“By fostering local partnerships and encouraging collaboration, we can create a seamless and inclusive early educational experience for every child… We look forward to working in partnership with members of the Healey-Driscoll Administration and the Legislature to reframe how we think about and support early childhood in this state and continue to invest the resources needed for implementation.”
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