State Education Officials Visit Pittsfield on 413 Day
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — State education officials stopped in Pittsfield and North Adams as a part of Monday's "413 Day" tour to highlight early education and early college opportunities.
At the Boys and Girls Club of the Berkshires child care center in Pittsfield, Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike heard from community-based preschool educators about workforce needs and the impact of the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative. Some credited the program for creating an official connection between early education and public school.
Zrike, only 11 days in his position, said having kids come through the elementary school doors with a powerful preschool or early childhood experience is "significant." Last year, as part of a multi-year initiative, the Pittsfield Public Schools were awarded $250,000 through the CPPI to expand access to preschool for 3-and 4-year-olds across the city.
"We know that early childhood educators are woefully underpaid in many places. We also know that the supports and training so that we can retain some of the quality people is something we've got to continue to work on to enhance the quality, but we're off to, I think, a good start," Zrike said.
"And I come today to learn from another community and to better understand the infrastructure that you built here in Pittsfield."
Interim Superintendent Latifah Phillips said what the district really wants is for students to come into kindergarten ready, and readiness goes beyond academic skills.
"It's very much a social emotional readiness," she said.
"It's ready to learn, which means knowing how to cut, knowing how to walk in line, knowing how to share, and I think those are the pieces through early education where it's important for us to partner so that when the handoff comes, we are ready. It's important for us to approach this as a continuum. Not just we are pre-K through 12. No, we are a community continuum, all of us focused on the support of our students."
Mayor Peter Marchetti said part of this, to him, is creating a level playing field for all students to start in, "And if we can create that field at 3 years old, rather than third grade, we're miles ahead of it."
Lisa Benoit, assistant director of the Children's Center, said there has always been a divide between it and the public schools, but the CPPI grant has closed that gap.
"I think we're finally drawing near where we're all kind of getting on that same page, where this is what we're expecting, let's get these guys all together, although I think the preschools already do it, to what the expectations are when they go into kindergarten," she said.
"…So there wasn't that pull together, and I think we're finally at that point. Not pay-wise."
State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier reiterated that early education is the "secret sauce" to address so many of the issues in the school system and wider community.
She agreed that educators' pay is "woefully, woefully" underfunded, and said the state will be doing things right when the teacher of a 3-year-old is paid the same as the teacher of a third grader.
Sarah Muil, Austen Riggs Nursery School director and Pittsfield School Committee member, said people stay in the early education realm for a reason: "Because we love what we do."
"But we're definitely not getting paid what we deserve, having a Master's in education," she added.
Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw said they have been "really committed" to the CPPI program as part of Gov. Maura Healey's Gateway to Pre-K, a multi-pronged effort to try and tackle access and affordability.
"We really see early childhood education as a pretty key equity investment, and we believe that early education is an experience, not a setting, and we want to center the experience that the children and the families are having and the choices they want to make," she said.
"And that's what CCPI is all about."
This program aligns community programs with the curriculum and expectations children should meet when they enter school. Kershaw described it as a "magical partnership that makes sure that children in the least restrictive setting have access to the learning supports that they need also to succeed."
Zrike said there is more that can be done to accelerate the young learners, and that is not just grinding them with more academics, but building on the foundation that they already have with you.
"I don't have to tell you this, but three and four-year-olds can do a lot, and they can write, they can think, they can certainly talk about meaningful things. And then we send them to kindergarten, and then we're in first grade, and we're just repeating a lot of what they've already learned," he said.
"So that alignment is so important to have the educators from the public schools in the room with all of you who know what you've been asking kids to do, and those expectations definitely need to shift, and that's part of why we find ourselves in a challenge."
Partner organizations include Berkshire United Way, Berkshire County Head Start, Kid Zone, Gladys Brigham Community Center, Boys & Girls Club of the Berkshires, 18 Degrees, and Berkshire Community College.
Emily Cooper, PPS early childhood coordinator and the CPPI grant coordinator, explained that the district is in early implementation but has built strong relationships and trust, "and I think I've never met a group of people who are, you know, better, advocates for young children."
She reported that they are on the verge of some great things in the next year, including a city-wide registration and having a dedicated person to help families with the enrollment process.
"We have spent the last year building a great community on trust," said Tracy Sheerin, executive director of Kidzone.
Tags: 413 day, boys and girls club, early childhood education, state officials,
