For Directors 

Directors Alerts

• On June 12th, EEC released a new Updated Minimum Requirements for Health and Safety. Newest edits are in green with an underline.
• On EEC website are three important reopening documents: 
  – First is the 2-page Reopening Plan Template Instructions for the Reopening Plan Template for Child Care Programs;
  – Second is the 6-page Reopening Plan Template for Child Care Programs for Group and School Age Programs (opens as a Word document);
  – Third is the Attestation Form that needs to be submitted along with a Staff Checklist.
• EEC’s Reopening Plan requires programs to provide information about their local Board of Health. The correct email to cite in Section 3 is: [email protected].
• Guidance for Local Board of Health Reporting RE: COVID-19 has recently been made available as well.
• Any Cambridge center- or family-based educator can get tested for COVID-19 at no cost thanks to the City’s partnership with the Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA). Testing is available weekdays from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. by appointment only (617-665-2928).
• Strategies for Children is hosting several “Advocacy 101: Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How!" series:
  – Wednesday, June 17th from 5:00-6:00 p.m.
  – Thursday, June 18th from 11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
• To better understand why many Black protesters say that society, writ large, “denies my humanity and right to exist,” watch this thought provoking recorded webinar, Racial Justice, Equity, and the Role of Child Care, sponsored by Child Care Aware of America. The next webinar on this 3-part series will be on June 25th.
• A great companion to the above webinar is a 30-minute video, addressed to white educators, is a Teaching Tolerance interview with Robin DiAngelo, author of the book White Fragility. Schools, she says, reproduce racial inequality because they ignore the psychic weight race places on Black children and educators. Many concrete strategies, like reframing “is this or isn’t this racist” to “how is this racist”, are provided.
• Be on the lookout for an upcoming webinar that will address issues such as liability, employee and employer rights sponsored by Goodwin’s Neighborhood Business Initiative, Children’s Investment Fund, Clifton Larson Allen LLP, and Eastern Bank.
• B-3 Mentors, Bess Emanuel and Polly Smith, are facilitating Cambridge Directors Support meetings on Zoom every Friday at 2PM (open to all Cambridge directors). Check your email inbox every Friday morning for the Zoom link.

Funding

• Paycheck Protection Program (PPP): Use of Proceeds and Loan Forgiveness webinar explained recent changes to the program and key issues affecting loan forgiveness. Webinar will be posted on this website soon.
• New Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) applications are being accepted as approximately $130 billion of the $320 billion second round funding has not been distributed. The term of the loan repayment is set at 5 years and interest remains at 1%. Click here for more information of PPP.
• A survey from the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) shows that only 11% of our nation’s child care providers will not survive the pandemic without government support. Click here to express your support of the Child Care Is Essential Act that would create a $50 B child care stabilization fund within the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CBDG) program.

For Families

Activities for Families

• John Lewis, civil rights leader and Congressman, tells Valerie Jackson how he met Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in this 4-minute recording, The Boy from Troy. He says his philosophy is very simple, “When you see something that is not right, you have to step up and do something”.
• WGBH's Family Fun at Home has learning activities linked to WGBH programming. From now till the end of August, all families who participate can enter a weekly raffle to win a $25 gift card from Stop & Shop or Walmart!

Resources for Families

• Massachusetts Association for Infant Mental Health has 6 tips on How to Talk to Young Children about Racial Injustice. This handout also offers suggestions on how to respond to difficult questions.
• Zero to Three offers families with children ages two to five thoughtful guidelines for talking about racism and equity in age-appropriate ways.