MassDevelopment’s Post

Press Release: A Community in Crisis – McDowell Elementary's Heartbreaking Closure Last week, we received devastating news: McDowell Elementary, a cherished institution owned by Cadence Education, will shut its doors in just two months—long after the school year has already begun. This abrupt and heartless decision leaves our children—some as young as infants—and our dedicated teachers in an unbearable situation. Who is McDowell? For nearly 50 years, McDowell Elementary and Preschool in Laguna Niguel has been a sanctuary of learning, nurturing, and growth. We are a small school that has proudly fostered generations of students with enriching programs in Art, Music, Theater, and Spanish. We have always believed that education is not just about academics but about nurturing the whole child—mind, heart, and soul. Who is Cadence and Why is This Happening? Cadence Education, which operates over 300 schools across the U.S., is owned by Apax, a New York City hedge fund managing over $80 billion in assets. Their decision to terminate our lease—set to expire in 2026—early, purely for tax savings, is nothing short of corporate greed at its worst. They even paid an early termination fee to make this happen. This decision rips apart the fabric of our school, disrupting the education of over 100 students, shattering friendships, and jeopardizing the livelihoods of teachers—some of whom have dedicated over 30 years of service to McDowell. Local private schools and other child care centers are already full and cannot accommodate such a sudden influx of displaced students. Parents are left scrambling for alternatives with precious little time, while teachers are given no severance, no support, and no acknowledgment of their years of dedication. Cadence's response? Silence, save for a poorly worded email sent by someone far removed from the heartache they’ve caused. Even our school’s website and social media were taken down, leaving parents in the dark, only to be restored after significant backlash. And this isn't an isolated event—Cadence similarly shuttered an elementary school in Folsom, California, in 2019. https://lnkd.in/gwNbRD7j A Cautionary Tale for All Families and Staff - If you are an employee of a Cadence-owned school, beware: your job is not as secure as you might think. If you are a parent with a child enrolled in one of their schools, know that your child’s education may be abruptly interrupted with no notice—just a cold, impersonal email as warning.

Promising ECE approach being implemented in Louisville, Kentucky. Quote from article below: Thrive by 5, separate from the Louisville government, will work in these phases, Greenberg announced: Phase 1: During the first one to two years, which will “begin immediately,” Thrive by 5 will be staffed. It will then establish “pilot participation” with preschools, child care centers and family child care homes. During this phase, the nonprofit will also create an online resource hub for parents, which they can use to learn about eligibility. It will focus, Greenberg said, on getting “early learning professionals hired, trained, supported and compensated at a level that allows them to do the incredibly important work that we know we need them to do.”  Phase 2: During the third and fourth years, which should begin in about a year, Thrive by 5 will launch financial assistance for families who earn less than 300% of the federal poverty lLevel (FPL) so their 4-year-olds can attend preschool. This eligibility marker comes out to $93,600 for a family of four. “Using that threshold, there will be thousands of hard working families across our city in every metro council district who will have a much easier time accessing high quality preschool for their children,” Greenberg said. Phase 3: During the fifth years and beyond, Thrive by 5 will expand financial assistance eligibility “to more Louisville children.” 

After reading an op-ed from Grace C. Bonilla, Esq., CEO of United Way of New York City, I am compelled to shed light on a critical issue facing New York City: the need for robust after-school programs. Recently, a coalition of after-school providers wrote a letter urging state leadership to prioritize investment in universal after-school programming. And they couldn't be more right.   Currently, less than half of public schools in New York City offer free, city-funded after-school programs, leaving hundreds of thousands of students stuck on waiting lists. This gap in accessibility not only exacerbates educational disparities but also stifles the potential of countless young minds.   After-school programs serve as more than just a safe space for children after the bell rings. They provide academic support, crucial for reinforcing lessons learned during the school day. They foster the development of essential social skills, empowering children to navigate the complexities of interpersonal relationships. And perhaps most importantly, they build a sense of community, giving our youth a greater sense of belonging and connectedness.   At Children's Aid, we understand the transformative power of investing in our youth. That's why we wholeheartedly support the call for more after-school programs across New York City.    Learn more by reading the op-ed: https://lnkd.in/ejA3iCEJ 

New York City is taking a transformative step forward in early childhood education with a historic investment exceeding $3 billion, bolstered by an additional $100 million in the Fiscal Year 2025 (FY25) budget. This ambitious plan, developed through a collaborative effort between the Adams administration and the City Council, aims to address systemic challenges, better allocate resources, and ensure that every child has access to quality early education. Key highlights include: 1. Expanded Access and Equity: Over 1,500 new 3-K seats will be added in high-need communities for the 2024-2025 school year. This effort ensures 100% of families who applied for 3-K on time have received offers, marking a significant increase in access, especially for underserved and undocumented children. 2. Support for Special Education and Extended Day Services: The plan expands preschool special education classrooms, adds 450 special education seats, and provides free extended hours for over 1,700 families, addressing critical needs for working parents. 3. Targeted Outreach and Family Engagement: A $5 million outreach initiative will focus on under-enrolled communities, enhancing enrollment through partnerships with local organizations to provide hands-on support. 4. Support for Undocumented Children: The Promise NYC program, which supports undocumented families, will see its funding increased to $25 million, enabling approximately 1,000 children to access child care services. 5. A Coordinated, Holistic Approach: The newly established Mayor's Office of Child Care and Early Childhood Education will oversee the implementation of a 10-point plan, focusing on cross-agency collaboration, enhanced provider support, and continuous policy improvements to streamline operations and expand access. Under Mayor Adams' leadership, this initiative not only addresses immediate needs but also sets the stage for a reimagined early childhood education system that prioritizes affordability, accessibility, and quality. As New York City continues to lead the nation in early childhood education, this plan emphasizes the city's commitment to supporting working families and building a more equitable and prosperous future for all New Yorkers. #NYCEarlyEd #ChildcareReform #InvestInKids #EquitableEducation #EarlyLearningNYC #SupportWorkingFamilies https://lnkd.in/e-NnXXsn

Senator Myrie: Investing in after-school programs wouldn’t just help families with affordability– it would pay handsome dividends for our city’s economy. In 2022, the city estimates it lost $23 billion from working parents leaving the city or cutting back their hours because of the high cost of childcare. Those departing parents shrink our public school enrollment, starving the city of per-pupil revenue from the state. They don’t ride our subways and buses, which depend on fares to sustain the system. Making after-school widely available would increase New York’s productivity and keep more adults here in the city during their prime working years. And after-school programming keeps kids occupied, supervised and off the streets during the hours when crime is most likely to occur. According to the US Department of Justice, more than a third of violent crime committed by youth happens in the critical hours after school. Engaging academic and recreational programming after school would keep more young people occupied and out of trouble. This year, the first wave of UPK students are teenagers. They are no doubt better off because of the strong start they got with free, universal childcare– and their families are grateful. Today, we face a renewed affordability crisis, historic labor shortages and an exodus of working families from our schools and our city. Next year, let’s make free afterschool programming a reality for the students and families that need it most. At the end of the day, it’s an investment in our city’s future. https://lnkd.in/gNUrs3yG

"In many communities around the world, there have never been clear ways for parents and teachers to connect and genuinely partner to support students. A generation of mothers and fathers have made efforts to help kids learn, but not necessarily in partnership with teachers. Likewise, most teachers spend their careers with no roadmap for welcoming parents as collaborative partners. When the COVID pandemic made the already spotty and often ineffective communication between families and schools even more difficult, it was clear than communities needed to make progress on this key aspect of the learning landscape. That’s why Parents as Allies was born. This global, collaborative project — led by Kidsburgh.org, grounded in research by the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at The Brookings Institution and including valuable partnership with HundrEDorg and Learning Heroes (US)— was launched in 2021 to help school districts and the families they serve hack this challenge...." https://lnkd.in/eRgcNgBP #schools #families #teachers #parents #familyschoolpartners #familyschoolengagment

Check out this amazing guidebook from #parentsasallies! It highlights the work of teams of families and educational leaders pioneering what it means to engage parents in co-designing possibilities for the benefit of children, families, schools and communities! #familyengagement

Funding under the Inclusion stream is provided under the following categories: Buildings and Playgrounds – Funding for infrastructure upgrades to make kindergarten activities safer, more inclusive and accessible to children of all abilities Equipment – Funding for moveable inclusive education equipment, such as mobility stools and sensory equipment for kindergarten programs #kindergarten #earlylearning #education #schoolequipment

We all recognize that #afterschool is not just an investment in #education; it's an investment in [the] future. #afterschoolforall #powerofafterschool

“1,000,000 Minutes in a Child’s Life”  Op-Ed from Head of School Josh LeSage Where do you purchase the most important goods and services for your family? What if you were only allowed to shop in your zip code, city, or county? What if you could only buy goods and services from government owned and government operated businesses? How would this make you feel? What if I also told you the quality of the goods and services available to you varied significantly depending on where, in Louisville for example, you live? What if I told you the best and most desirable places to shop fill up fast, operating on a first-come, first-served basis, or on some type of lottery system? Sound crazy? If this concept sounds crazy to you, let me ask you a few more crazy questions. Do you care about your child’s academic, socio-emotional, and physical well-being more than where you buy groceries or get your oil changed? What is more important to you, having more choices in clothing stores or having more choices in where your child spends over 1,000,000 minutes of their life during the most formative, vulnerable, and important stages of development and training for adulthood? I know your answers to these questions. For those of us who have been blessed with one of God’s greatest earthly gifts, children, we all have the same answers. Our children spend at least one million minutes with other children and with adults who we entrust them to from ages 5 to 18. Who these people and institutions are, what they believe, and what they are teaching our children is most important to all of us as a larger parent community. Unfortunately, in Kentucky, and only in Kentucky and one other U.S. state, we have very limited options and no real choice about where our children will spend those 1,000,000 minutes during their childhood. Unless you can afford to pay extra for the privilege of having a say in who is teaching your child and what they are being taught, you are out of luck in Kentucky. Who decides what is true, what is good, what is right, and what is wrong? During these 1,000,000 minutes of your child’s life, the simple answer is, “not you,” unless you can afford to pay extra. I believe God gives children to their parents. I believe it is the privilege and responsibility of parents to educate their children. Parents need help doing this, so we have schools. Time in school consumes no less than 1,000,000 minutes of a child’s life (K-12). I believe all parents should have as many choices as possible regarding these 1,000,000 minutes, and I believe economic barriers should never limit those options. A lack of school choice options amounts to socioeconomic discrimination. All parents, regardless of income, should have a say in choosing their child’s school. More options are needed now! Amendment 2 takes the first step in making this possible for all Kentucky families.  #Leadership #SchoolChoice #KentuckyEducation #EducationReform