2024 Early Education and Care Report - Strengthening the Foundation - A Profile of Early Childhood Educators in Boston and Beyond

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys

2024 Early Education and Care Report, Strengthening the Foundation: A Profile of Early Childhood Educators in Boston and Beyond, produced by the Boston Opportunity Agenda and Birth to Eight Collaborative. The report draws on an extensive survey of early education and care professionals to examine their working lives and compensation. It highlights inequities created by high access costs and other under-discussed factors affecting quality and availability. The findings argue for system-wide change that nurtures a healthy, thriving educator workforce so children can succeed in kindergarten and beyond.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages46

Reading Time1 h 56 min

AccessFree to download

Letter from M. Lee Pelton

Introduction

Summary of Findings

Context

Main Findings

2024 EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE REPORT Strengthening the Foundation: A Profile of Early Childhood Educators in Boston and Beyond BOSTON BIRTH TO EIGHT COLLABORATIVE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank members of the Boston Opportunity Agenda’s Birth to Eight Collaborative Data Committee for informing and revising this work. This report would not have been possible without the support and partnership of the City of Boston’s Office of Early Childhood, Strategies for Children, the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, United Way Shared Services, the Boston Foundation, and Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care. We are thankful to the members of the Birth to Eight Collaborative’s Data Committee who gave substantial feedback to delineate the scope and final version of this publication: Karley Ausiello (United Way of Massachusetts Bay); Rosanna M. Batista (East Boston Social Centers, Inc.); Danubia Camargos Silva (The Boston Foundation); Ayesha Cammaerts (Boston Opportunity Agenda); Milan Chutanni (Vital Village); Peter Ciurczak (Boston Indicators); TeeAra Dias (Boston Public Schools); Turahn Dorsey (Eastern Bank Foundation); Titus DosRemedios (Strategies for Children); Kimberly Lucas (Northeastern University); Kristin McSwain (Office of Early Childhood – City of Boston); Adrienne Murphy (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care); Wendy Robeson (Wellesley Centers for Women); and Ashley White (Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care) . ABOUT THE BOSTON OPPORTUNITY AGENDA The Boston Opportunity Agenda is a public/private partnership that works urgently and strategically to transform the Boston education landscape from cradle to career. Our focus is on removing the systemic barriers that create unacceptable outcomes and lack of opportunity for historically oppressed and economically disadvantaged populations and creating a just, equitable education system. ABOUT THE BOSTON BIRTH TO EIGHT COLLABORATIVE Convened by the Boston Opportunity Agenda and the United Way of Massachusetts Bay, the Birth to Eight Collaborative includes parents and more than 200 representatives from early education centers, family child care, nonprofit organizations, schools, public health, philanthropy, and medical institutions. We focus on ensuring all young children are ready for sustained success in kindergarten and beyond. Cover Photo: SeventyFour/Shutterstock © 2024 by the Boston Foundation. All rights reserved. 2 0 24 STATE OF EARLY EDUCATION AND CARE REPORT Strengthening the Foundation: A Profile of Early Childhood Educators in Boston and Beyond AUTHORS Pratima A. Patil, A. M. , Ed. M. , Boston Opportunity Agenda Paula Gaviria Villarreal, MPP, Office of Early Childhood, City of Boston Fernanda Q. Campbell, Ph. D. , Boston Opportunity Agenda Birth to Eight Collaborative Data Committee EDITOR Sandy Kendall, The Boston Foundation DESIGN Kate Canfield, Canfield Design FEBRUARY 2024 We know from decades of research that the first thousand days of life are pivotal in defining an individual’s future health and success—and their ability to contribute to our communities’ civic and economic vitality. At the Boston Foundation, Nurturing Strong Beginnings is a top priority in our critical efforts to advance equity in Boston and beyond. We believe stronger and more equitable systems of early education and care will ensure our children are physically and emotionally healthy, on track, and prepared to thrive in school and adulthood. Ensuring that all families have access to educational resources they need to help their children flourish can be immensely difficult. High costs are a well-known barrier to access for many, and yet other key factors that we don’t hear about as often also impact the quality and availability of early childhood education offerings. While we need to build a more affordable system, that system must also address the needs and challenges of our early childho

FAQs

What is the focus of the 2024 Early Education and Care Report?

The report focuses on early childhood educators in Boston and examines their lives, work, and compensation in relation to broader access and quality challenges in early education and care.

How did the report gather evidence?

The report shares results from an extensive survey taken among members of the early education and care workforce.

What key issue do the findings emphasize about the system?

The findings indicate that early education and care professionals are compensated too little for demanding roles in a system that is already unaffordable for most families, signaling a need for change.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Rhys