A Message from leadership
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This month’s update from Director Alyssa Chatterjee
I can’t believe it’s already time for another Chatterjee Chats! February has totally flown by – never under-estimate a legislative short session.
Legislative Session
Most of my time has been spent talking to legislators about DELC spending and needed policy changes. While we enter more constrained budget environments, one thing that continues to be clear is the recognition that families need support in accessing child care and early learning across the state.
Governor’s Early Childhood Care and Learning System Roundtable
The Governor announced a new roundtable on Tuesday, February 24th that will focus on increasing access to child care and preschool services across the state. The Governor is a long-standing champion of early learning and previously named early learning as one of her three priorities for the 25-27 biennium. DELC is going to be a part of this roundtable, and our own Carey McCann and Dorothy Spence will be part of the staffing team. We are excited to work alongside the Governor’s Office as this ambitious and exciting work gets underway.
Carey’s Corner: What Am I Reading
We recently rediscovered the interactive and learning space – ECHOES – the Early Childhood History, Organizing, Ethos, and Strategy Project. It tells the many histories of the ECE system and spotlights the untold stories of the women who taught and cared for young children. ECHOES explores the voices and visions of women of color, immigrant women, and working-class women by offering archival materials, stories, papers, audio and video clips, historical timelines, and contemporary material. An example of the history it describes is how Black women organized to expand child care, kindergarten and professional development as part of broader efforts to advance racial and gender justice at the turn of the century.