Resources
The resources below cover policy, advocacy, professional development and learning, small business practices, curriculum development, and much more. They are listed in alphabetical order.
Brain Building in Progress is a statewide campaign to raise public awareness and involvement in young children's healthy development and early learning. Its work is based upon the latest science and research on early childhood development and its mission is to raise awareness of the critical importance of fostering the cognitive, social and emotional development of young children by emphasizing its future impact on the economic prosperity of everyone in Massachusetts. Brain Building in Progress is a joint initiative of the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley.
The Brazelton Touchpoints Center was founded in 1996 by T. Berry Brazelton, MD, and colleagues and is based in the Division of Developmental Medicine at Boston Children’s Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital. Together with families, providers and communities, the Brazelton Touchpoints Center develops and applies knowledge of early childhood development to practice and policy through professional and organizational development, evaluation, advocacy and awareness and serving as a resource for proven practices.
Child Care Circuit (also known as The Community Group)
Child Care Circuit is a Massachusetts-based private nonprofit organization providing child care referrals, training and parent & provider services. The Community Group manages a range of programs, including a network of early childhood and out-of-school time programs, a network of charter schools, consulting and training programs, and a child care resource and referral program.
Connected Beginnings provides, coordinates, and evaluates professional development and training aimed at enhancing the social and emotional well-being of young children within their families, their communities, and their early care and education programs. It is a program of the UMass Donahue Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
EEC Community Resources For Families
This is an interactive online tool for families, parents and guardians seeking child-specific information and resources available in their communities. EEC has gathered resources from public schools, early intervention programs, Family Resource Centers, Coordinated Family and Community Engagement grantees, public libraries, community action agencies, and local boards of health.
EEC Licensed Child Care Search
This online tool created by the Department of Early Education and Care makes it easier to search for licensed child care programs across the state by geographic region. If a program you are researching does not appear in your search results, you may call the EEC regional licensing office for your area to confirm whether the program is licensed by EEC.
Massachusetts Association for the Education of Young Children (MAEYC)
MAEYC is an affiliate of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). NAEYC is the nation's largest and most influential organization of early childhood educators and others dedicated to improving the quality of programs for children from birth through age eight.”
The Massachusetts Early Learning Guidelines for Infants and Toddlers
These guidelines are designed for educators and program administrators in planning and evaluating curricula for infants and toddlers in preschool and Kindergarten in early education and care programs. These guidelines also provide a comprehensive view of how experiences shape infants' and toddlers' development. Guidelines are available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Simplified Chinese.
Massachusetts Guidelines for Preschool Learning Experiences
These guidelines focus on relationships between significant people in the child’s world and highlight the importance of interactions with children in a program. Guidelines are available in English and Spanish.
Minimum Hiring Requirements for Educators
The Minimum Hiring Requirements for Educators explain the hiring requirements for licensed ECE programs.
Licensing Education Analytic Database (LEAD) provider support:
The National Institute for Early Education Research
NIEER publishes reports that focus on early education research topics
Professional Qualifications Registry (PQ Registry)
EEC encourages all educators to take advantage of the PQ Registry, including those who work in public preschools and other programs that are not subject to EEC licensure. The PQ Registry gathers important information on the size, composition, education, and experience of the ECE workforce. It stores information about the retention and turnover of educators working in early education and out-of-school time programs. This information will help EEC build a workforce development system that responds to the needs of all educators and programs in Massachusetts.
Professional Pathways is a Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and Neighborhood Villages resource designed to help early educators enroll in higher education courses towards a credential and advance their careers in early education.
The Pyramid Model Consortium exists to promote the dissemination, sustainability, scale-up and high fidelity use of the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children.
Raising a Reader Massachusetts
“Raising A Reader Massachusetts was founded in 2006, initially serving families in Chelsea and encouraging robust literacy habits to support children from birth to age six. Since then, we gained a nonprofit status in 2009 and have expanded to communities across the state.”
Resources for Early Learning provides exciting, engaging media-rich learning opportunities for educators, parents, and caregivers of children. From detailed lesson plans to simple, everyday activities, you will find everything you need to help your children succeed.
Shared Services MA Web Platform
Membership in Shared Services is free for early education providers. Benefits include
access to sample policies, procedures, handbooks, forms, interview guides, job descriptions, curriculum ideas, marketing materials and much more, created by ECE experts in downloadable formats
a one-stop repository of the most up to date state and federal ECE policies, forms, and regulations
access to significant volume purchasing discounts on teaching supplies as well as food and beverage supplies, office supplies, and other services such as credit card processing and waste management
access to a community of experts and peers with a wealth of knowledge and advice to share
SFC works to ensure that Massachusetts invests the resources needed for all children, from birth to age five, to access high-quality early education programs that prepare them for success in school and life.
StrongStart Online Professional Development System (StrongStart Online PDS)
The Department of Early Education and Care's StrongStart Online Professional Development System (StrongStart Online PDS) is part of Massachusetts' StrongStart Quality Early Education and Care initiative. The StrongStart Online PDS provides resources for educators and administrators to enhance quality in their programs and support individual educator success, such as training and technical assistance.
Vital Village is a network of residents and organizations committed to maximizing child, family, and community well-being. Our place-based, community engagement network mobilizes collective investment from residents, community organizations and institutions to seed scalable and sustainable community change around child protection and promoting healthy social and emotional development in early childhood.”