Press Release  Healey-Driscoll Administration Kicks Off Universal Pre-K Road Show in Somerville

Somerville — The Healey-Driscoll Administration today announced a series of community visits across Massachusetts throughout the spring and summer to spotlight innovative preschool programs supported by the Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) and celebrate communities expanding access to high-quality early education for children and families.

Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw and other state and local education leaders began the Universal Pre-K Access Road Show with a stop at Somerville Partnership for Young Children. The Commissioner’s visits will include classroom tours and roundtable discussions with local educators and administrators who are creating strong early learning foundations in their communities.

“As a former superintendent, I know how important access to high-quality preschool is for families and for closing the learning gap before kids enter kindergarten. That’s why we have been focused on expanding access to affordable, high-quality preschool, especially in Gateway Cities and rural communities across the state,” said Secretary of Education Dr. Patrick Tutwiler. “We want to lift up how local communities are working together to provide access to preschool across public and community-based programs, lowering costs for families and helping parents stay in or return to the workforce.”

“These visits are about recognizing the incredible and innovative partnerships in our communities that are enabling increased access to preschool and learning directly from local leaders who are helping to make preschool more equitable and effective for all,” said Early Education and Care Commissioner Amy Kershaw. “Somerville has been a leader in aligning preschool experiences with public education, and we're excited to start here and take these stories across the state.”

CPPI is a key component of the administration’s Gateway to Pre-K Agenda and focuses on expanding access to affordable, high-quality preschool across Massachusetts, with a particular focus on the state's 26 Gateway Cities and rural communities. The CPPI grant program enables preschool experiences for three- and four-year-olds by funding locally driven partnerships between school districts and community-based early education providers. Currently, CPPI supports 30 communities statewide, reaching 3,249 children in 217 classrooms across 103 early education providers. CPPI classrooms are primarily located in community-based settings, with 80% of children enrolled in center-based or family child care programs.

In Somerville, CPPI funding has supported a mixed-delivery preschool model that leverages both public schools and community partners to increase access and ensure program continuity for families. Somerville Partnership for Young Children leads a network of licensed early education and care providers through the CPPI grant program to increase access to early childhood education programs for Somerville families and improve the quality of Somerville’s local early childhood education system.

“We rely on the Somerville Partnership for Young Children to provide high-quality early childhood experiences that set the foundation for long-term academic and social-emotional success,” said Somerville Public Schools Superintendent Rubén Carmona. “Thanks to the consistent and generous CPPI grant funding from the Department of Early Education and Care, Somerville is able to invest in innovative and collaborative early learning opportunities that benefit our entire community.”

Governor Healey’s FY26 budget and related Fair Share supplemental budget funds CPPI at $25 million for FY26, with additional funding to expand access over 3 years. The expansion would allow CPPI to reach the remaining 7 Gateway Cities not currently funded, as well as enable 12 current grantees move to full implementation. In total, funding would be available for 37 districts to continue efforts to create systemic alignment and coordination, strategic expansion, and efficient investments to make on-the-ground progress towards the goal of universal access to preschool in the Commonwealth.

EEC intends to release opportunities to apply for CPPI grants in FY26 through a staged process subject to the availability of funding. Learn more about CPPI at Mass.gov/CPPI.

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