EEC Advisory Council
Pursuant to MGL Ch. 15D, there is a state advisory council on early education and care, the members of which represent a reasonable geographic balance and reflect the diversity of the commonwealth in race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. All appointees have a special expertise or interest in high quality early childhood education and care and represent a mix of representatives of the early childhood community, the civic, labor, and business communities, academics, parents, teachers, social service providers, and health care providers. The advisory council may review and offer comments on any rules or regulations before promulgation by the board, and may, from time to time, make recommendations to the board that it considers appropriate for changes and improvements in early education and care programs and services.
EEC’s Advisory Council has meets in its entirety four times a year annually. Expertise groups also meet between each full Advisory meeting in order to maximize focused, relevant and in-depth conversations with multiple stakeholder types. The following six expertise groups meet:
- Agencies with Vendor/Contract Relationship;
- Legislators;
- Business/Civic;
- Higher Education;
- State Associations; and
- K-12 Linkages.
EEC Advisory Groups
EEC has convened several initiative-related advisory groups or panels to provide guidance on project development and implementation. These advisory groups/panels include:
Higher Education for English Language Learners (ELL) Program (also known as Pathways)
Media-Based Resources for Early Learning
Peer Assisting and Coaching (PAC)
Validation of Educator Competency
Higher Education for English Language Learners (ELL) Program (also known as Pathways)
The goal of the Higher Education for English Language Learners (ELL) program is to provide opportunities for English language learners to access higher education and receive content to improve their practice with children birth to 5 by:
- Creating a framework across curricula and teaching methods that helps bridge access to higher education for ELL educators;
- Preparing ELL educators to benefit from college level courses in English and to matriculate in a degree program;
- Ensuring that ELL educators receive the immediate content knowledge needed to work effectively with children and families while they learn English;
- Meeting the high demand for bilingual early education and care professionals who can competently serve the growing numbers of linguistically diverse young children and families;
- Supporting multi-lingual early childhood educators as they navigate degree attainment and quality improvement through the tiered Quality Rating Improvement System (QRIS)
- Serving as a working model that can be replicated across the state through public and private institutions.
The Aspire Institute at Wheelock College will lead an initiative to design and deliver an innovative program to help educators who are English language learners (ELL) access higher education while providing the immediate content needed to improve practice with children birth to age 5, in formal early education and care settings. The focus of the grant will target paraprofessionals and assistant teachers whose primary language is not English, with the goal of equipping them to effectively assist children who are dual language learners by achieving higher academic coursework and credentials themselves.
Membership
Executive Committee
| Betty Bardige | Independent Consultant |
| Eleonora Villegas-Reimers | Wheelock College |
| Elise Scott | BOSTNet |
| Esperanza Oliveras | Chandler Magnet School |
| Jeanne Burkes | UMASS/Donahue Institute/MA State Office |
| Joelle Auguste | Wheelock College - MAC |
| John Strucker | World Education |
| Joni Block | CFCE of Brockton |
| Lucas Guerra | Argus Communications |
| Manuela Su | The Community Training Group |
| Margarita Perez | Worcester State University |
| Maria Serpa | Lesley University |
| Marta Rosa | Wheelock College - Government Affairs |
| Min-hua Chen | Dept. of Elem/Sec. Education |
| Patty Hnatuik | Wheelock College |
| Susan Eliason | Bridgewater State University |
| Vicki Van Zee | Preschool Enrichment Team - EPS - Region 1 |
| Winifred Hagan | MA Department of Higher Education |
Advisory Committee
| Maria de los A. Agrinsoni Malave | University of Puerto Rico |
| Andrea T. Urbano | Horizons for Homeless Children |
| Bernadette Davidson | Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center |
| Betty Bardige | Independent Consultant |
| Eleonora Villegas-Reimers | Wheelock College |
| Elise Scott | BOSTNet |
| Esperanza Oliveras | Chandler Magnet School |
| Gail Klimas | YMCA of Greater Boston |
| Jane Yedlin | Wheelock College |
| Jeanne Burkes | UMASS/Donahue Institute/MA State Office |
| Joelle Auguste | Wheelock College - MAC |
| John Strucker | World Education |
| Joni Block | CFCE of Brockton |
| Judy Lindamood | Bunker Hill Community College |
| Karen Clauson | YMCA of East Boston |
| Kathy Gallo | North Shore Community College |
| Lucas Guerra | Argus Communications |
| Manuela Su | The Community Training Group |
| Margarita Perez | Worcester State University |
| Maria Serpa | Lesley University |
| Marta Rosa | Wheelock College - Government Affairs |
| Matilde Graciano | Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción |
| Mercedes Rondon | Child Care Circuit |
| Min-hua Chen | Dept. of Elem/Sec. Education |
| Patty Hnatuik | Wheelock College |
| Rosmary Hernandez | Program Manager, Talk/Read/Succeed |
| Sandra McElroy | Pine Manor College |
| Sara Quay | Endicott College |
| Sarah Montoya | Horizons for Homeless Children |
| Susan Eliason | Bridgewater State University |
| Taciania Ribeiro-Saab | Associated Early Care and Education |
| Vicki Van Zee | Preschool Enrichment Team - EPS - Region 1 |
| Wayne Ysaguirre | Associated Early Care and Education |
| Winifred Hagan | MA Department of Higher Education |
| Yamiley Millor | City of Boston |
Media-Based Resources for Early Learning
As EEC’s media partner, WGBH will employ a series of research-based digital strategies to enhance ongoing efforts to build an effective early childhood education workforce and family support system in the Commonwealth. WGBH will develop a robust set of media-based curricular resources to build the capacity of preschool classroom teachers and family daycare providers to promote the growth of young children, and to support and engage parents in their role as their child’s first teacher. The centerpiece of this work is the production of a “digital hub”, a free, online platform that will feature a centralized library of these resources, direct links to related materials, and customized pathways to guide teachers, parents and other care providers through the site.
Membership
Content Advisors
English Language Arts (Ages 3–5)
Jeanne Paratore
Boston University School of Education
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math/STEM (Ages 3–5)
Cindy Hoisington
EDC
Infant/Toddlers (Ages 0–3)
Betty Bardige
Early Childhood Consultant
Professional Development (Ages 0–5)
Eleonora Villegas-Reimers
Wheelock College
Reviewers
Educators (Ages 0–5)
Meghan McGinley Crowe
Little Sprouts
Melanie L'Etoile
Family childcare
Manuela Su
Community Group
Educators (Ages 3–5)
Jillayne Flanders
Plains School
Sandra Bispham Parkin
UMass Boston, Early Learning Center
Maria Teixeira
Ellis Memorial Children’s Center
Tiffany Young
Holmes Elementary School
Parents
Anne Dolan
Family Support Early Intervention
Beth Guikema
Parent of children ages 22 months and 4
Adam Quimby
Parent of children ages 2 and 5
Regina Robinson
Parent Advocate
Peer Assisting and Coaching (PAC)
As part of the Early Learning Plan, EEC is embarking on a Peer Assistance and Coaching model. The particular focus for the MA PAC project will be peer coaching. Peer coaching combines the promise of coaching as an effective strategy and the reality that the existing early childhood teachers and directors may be well-equipped to support one another’s practices. Massachusetts PAC will promote the use of training and coaching methods that give teachers opportunities to see and try out effective practices and receive feedback about these efforts to improve those educator competencies. Institute for Education and Professional Development (IEPD) is working with EEC and various groups to design the appropriate PAC model for Massachusetts pilot the model and then, using lessons learned from the pilot, bring the model to scale in four years.
Membership
Mary Ann Anthony
Catholic Charities
Joanna Doyle
Clarendon Family Day Care
Susan Eliason
Bridgewater State University
Carol Godfrey
Home/Health & Child Care Services, Inc
Margaret Hannah
Massachusetts School Professional Psychology
Stephanie Johnson
Associated Early Care and Education
Jonie Latimer-Brady
Ayer Kiddie Depot
Joan MacDonald
Hull Public School- Hull Family Network,
Carolyn Minervino
Falmouth Public Schools/ Falmouth CFCE Grant,
Greg Mullaney
Quinsigamond Community College,
Kimberly Murphy
Brookline Pre-Kare
Paula Perrier
Early Childhood Centers of Greater Springfield, Inc
Cynthia Recoulle
Square One
Lisa Van Thiel
University of Massachusetts Boston
Linda Warren
Early Childhood Associates, Inc
Validation of Educator Competency
The goal of the Validation of Educator Competency is to identify and validate the factors that result in educator competency in helping children achieve desired outcomes in three key areas: social-emotional development, literacy and numeracy. The American Institution for Research (AIR) will lead an initiative to validate the factors inherent in educator competency based on analysis of effective classroom practice with children birth to age 5 as defined by their achievement of desired outcomes in three key areas, social-emotional development, literacy, and numeracy. AIR will also analyze the effectiveness of using research-based digital strategies to enhance the abilities of educators and parents to support children’s healthy growth and development in the areas outlined above.
Membership
| First Name | Last Name | Organization |
| Andrew | Churchill | Pioneer Valley Educational Readiness Center |
| Doug | Clements | The State University of New York |
| Doug | Frye | Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania |
| Kathryn | Gallo | North Shore Community College |
| Anita | Greenwood | UMASS Lowell |
| Kim | Haskins | Barr Foundation |
| Eboni | Howard | AIR |
| Joan | Kagan | Square One |
| Nonie | Lesaux | Harvard Graduate School of Education |
| Michelle | Lima | KinderCare Learning Center |
| Kay | Lisseck | Pioneer Valley Educational Readiness Center |
| Kim | Lucas | Associated Early Care and Education |
| Jonathan | Margolin | AIR |
| Amy | O'Leary | Strategies For Children |
| Susan | Oliveira | Little People's College |
| Gloria | Payton | MOC Child Care and Head Start |
| Gladys | Rivera | Holyoke-Chicopee-Springfield Head Start |
| Regina | Robinson | Parent |
| Terry | Salinger | AIR |
| Neil | Sullivan | Boston Private Industry Council |
| Nancy | Tyler Higgins | Middlesex Community College |
| Marina | Umaschi Bers | Tufts University |
| Vicki | Van Zee | Preschool Enrichment Team, Inc. |
| Corey | Zimmerman | United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley |
| Allison | Comport | United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley |