Early education and care is essential for children and their parents. It helps prepare kids for school and has been shown to have far-reaching effects on reading proficiency, graduation rates, and even future earnings. It also helps give parents the support they need to find and keep jobs, improve their economic circumstances, and provide for their families.
Even though there is clear evidence that investments in early education provide significant results, the House budget for Fiscal Year 2014 cuts support for these programs, reducing funding by about $11 million from last year's budget. Governor Deval Patrick's budget expanded access to child care for low-income families and invested in new efforts to improve the quality of programs offered, most notably clearing waitlists for low-income families seeking child care support. The House budget level funds or cuts most existing child care accounts.
We need your help to preserve funding for education! Please call and email your local state legislators to support the Governor's budget and to urge increased funding for quality early education and care. Click here to find your local state legislators. BCNC's children's programs depend on state funding. BCNC needs your support to ensure that the children of Acorn have the best possible education and care for a brighter future.
At BCNC, there are 81 young children, aged 15 months to 6 years old, that rely on our services every day. Many of the parents speak limited English and are considered low income, but in spite of these obstacles, these dedicated parents strive to provide their children with the resources needed to become successful in life. With the help of BCNC and our programs, these committed parents' desire to improve the lives of their children are attainable.
Opened in 1972, BCNC's Acorn Center for Early Education and Care provides families with a high quality program accredited by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). Housed in a LEED certified green building, Acorn offers a healthy food program, daily exercise and a curriculum that promotes cultural and linguistic competence, school readiness and creativity. Acorn provides a dual language (Chinese and English) curriculum with a rich variety of learning materials and resources that support the best development for our children. Teachers plan for integrated math, science and literacy activities with major emphasis on family centered approaches that are culturally competent and foster social/emotional skills.
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