November 1, 2023
Josh Young of ABCD, Flossy Calderon of ABCD, state Reps. Kate Donoghue, Denise Garlick, Chris Worrell, ABCD CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler, Site Directors Danielle Grow and Catherine Moran, and ABCD’s Aiesha Washington, at the ABCD Geneva Avenue Head Start facility. Seth Daniel photo
Three lawmakers, all members of the House Education Committee, toured early childhood education sites throughout Dorchester and Roxbury last month to learn more about early childhood education in the government-funded Head Start program.
Rep. Denise Garlick of Needham, the committee’s chairperson, joined host state Rep. Chris Worrell and Rep. Kate Donaghue of Worcester in stopping by the ABCD Head Start facility on Geneva Avenue and in a panel discussion at Cesaria Restaurant on Bowdoin Street.
ABCD President and CEO Sharon Scott-Chandler led lawmakers through the Geneva Avenue facility to show them the daily ins and outs of the place.
“We are so pleased that Rep. Worrell brought the chairwoman and other members of the education committee to our center to see and engage in dialogue around the impactful work we do and the challenges that we face,” Scott-Chandler said. “We look forward to working together as they develop policy for the future of early childhood education.”
Of particular interest were the numbers of full-day Head Start seats, as opposed to the shorter day. The facility has three short-day classrooms and four extended day classrooms. The shorter day runs from 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. with a break in the summer. The extended day is 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. year-round.
“I think parents need [the extended day] because they’re all trying to work within the six-hour day here because Head Start is the free program,” said Danielle Grow, the director of the Geneva Ave. site. “It’s hard for them to be able to work a full shift. They are piecing together the childcare part as best they can.”
“It was a pleasure bringing my colleagues on the Education Committee to Dorchester and Roxbury to see some of the incredible work happening in our communities to give our youth access to high quality education and opportunity,” said Worrell.
The hope was that the representatives, the committee’s research team, and staff members would be able to take what they learned on the ground from the tour and use it to advocate for expanded programs.
