NORTHAMPTON — The Northampton Public Schools received $1 million from the state in grants relating to preschool access, affirming the city’s status as a leader of early childhood education and universal preschool in the state.
The money comes in the form of Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI) grants that go toward developing partnerships between school districts and local early education programs. Currently, Northampton has 18 CPPI-funded classrooms with 227 students, under the purview of 11 different partners licensed by the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC).
The city was one of the first in the state to take part in CPPI in 2019, and the program has grown to support early education in 22 different municipalities across the state, with eight more in the planning stages of joining.
“These sustained investments in CPPI continue the Administration’s innovative approach to universally accessible preschool,” said EEC Commissioner Amy Kershaw in a statement announcing the grants on Aug. 21. “Across the state we are building lasting partnerships between School Districts and community-based child care programs to ensure that families have access to the choices and programs that meet their needs.”
In May, Kershaw visited Northampton as part of an effort by the department to highlight successful implementations of CPPI-funded programs. Stops in the city included the Community Action Pioneer Valley building on Vernon Street and Smith College, itself one of the city’s pre-K providers via its Fort Hill preschool.
The announcement regarding the most recent round of CPPI funding also specifically highlighted Northampton’s efforts with CPPI, noting how a mental health consultant and coaches can be provided to parents and classroom teachers to offer guidance and connections to services.
Laura Frogameni, the preschool and partnership coordinator at the Early Childhood Center at Northampton Public Schools, said the CPPI grants can be broken into three strands that aim to improve access by reducing tuition via vouchers, to improve relationships with voucher agencies and to fund coaching for classroom to ensure quality of care.
“In order for a child to be ready for kindergarten, they need a global set of skills. They need to be able to listen in a whole group lesson, to be able to partake in a small group lesson, to be able to pick something up and learn with it and play independently,” Frogameni said in an interview with the Gazette. “Single parents, two-parent working families, families who need the economic stability of employment, they need child care.”
Frogameni also noted that in Northampton, parents of children with a disability can receive services within their own early education classrooms, meaning children do not have be transported or bused between locations in the middle of the day.
“That means that parents whose children have a disability, they can choose to come to public preschool, and it’s amazing,” Frogameni said. “They can choose to have the services delivered to their Northampton-licensed early education and care program.”
The state’s push for expanding services to ensure universal access to pre-K education comes in the face of cuts of services at the federal level under the administration of President Donald Trump. Under the administration, the Head Start program that provides preschooling for children of low-income families has seen regional offices close and staff laid off.
In announcing the latest CPPI grants, Gov. Maura Healey reaffirmed the state’s support for universal pre-k.
“Far too many parents are being held back from returning to the workforce because of the daunting cost of child care,” Healey said. “That’s why we have been focused on expanding access to universal pre-k through our schools and community-based programs across the state.”
Matt Holloway, the director of student services at NPS, also praised the grant for giving the city the ability to provide leading pre-K services for disabled children in the city.
“We are thrilled to be able to provide this support for our youngest students with disabilities,” Holloway said. “Being able to support them in a community-based setting means they have to adapt to fewer transitions throughout their day, and their overall care is more cohesive and family-friendly.”
Northampton is one of nine communities that received $1 million from the state, joining other cities such as Springfield, Somerville and New Bedford. Other western Massachusetts school districts to receive CPPI funding include Holyoke with $566,800, Westfield with $1 million and North Adams with $316,000.
