NORTHAMPTON — Some of the most prominent people in early childhood education, including Amy Kershaw, commissioner of the state’s Department of Early Education and Care, descended on Northampton on Wednesday to fete the city’s status as a leader in the field.

Kershaw, along with other EEC officials, met with local and regional early educators as part of the department’s “Universal Pre-K Access Road Show,” visiting cities in the commonwealth that have shown commitment to providing high-quality preschool for all children. The main vehicle to accomplish this goal has been through the state’s Commonwealth Preschool Partnership Initiative (CPPI), which provides grants to municipalities to develop partnerships between school districts and local early education programs.

Kershaw’s visit began with a trip to see the Head Start & Early Learning programs at the Community Action Pioneer Valley building on Vernon Street. Kershaw sat among more than 25 state, regional and local leaders in early childhood education in a round table luncheon, noting the difficult political climate early educators find themselves in.

The administration of President Donald Trump has authorized numerous cuts and funding delays for Head Start, a federal program that provides preschooling for children from low-income families. The Trump administration had proposed eliminating Head Start altogether in an early budget proposal but later backed off, although Head Start programs across the country have suffered from regional office closures and support staff layoffs.

“When public service is under attack, it’s important to acknowledge the work you all do,” Kershaw said. “It’s meaningful to see this vision grow over the years.”

Mary Bradley, the site director for the Head Start program at the Vernon Street building, said it was heartwarming to see how many people in the city were dedicated to the cause of early education.

“It takes a village to raise a child,” Bradley said. “It just warms my heart that there are so many people here willing to care for our children, especially our most vulnerable children.”

The Northampton partnerships include a collaboration of 11 EEC-licensed partners, representing 18 CPPI-funded classrooms and 227 students, according to the department.

Northampton has received $670,000 annually since 2019 to build toward the state’s goal of a mixed delivery system, under which the public schools work together with family child care providers and center-based programs. Combining the CPPI with other grants such as Coordinated Family and Community Engagement grant and the Summer Step Up grant, Northampton has received over $1 million from EEC to fund early education services this year.

Before the advent of CPPI, children with disabilities or developmental delays would have to go to public preschool to get services. While public schools still provide services, the partnership grant pays for special educators to travel to early education and child care centers, bringing their services to where the children are.

Later on, a reception was held at Smith College’s Julia Child Campus Center. The college itself is one of the city’s early education providers via its Fort Hill preschool program. A panel discussion and following reception was led by Laura Frogameni, the preschool and partnership coordinator at the Early Childhood Center at Northampton Public Schools.

“We offer guidance, we get the practical task done, we connect with people, the large people and the small people,” Frogameni said. “Our collective efforts, endeavoring to work in partnership, is having a dynamic impact on children and families.”

Frogameni shared testimony of parents whose children have benefited from the CPPI program, and the event also honored Barbara Black, who spent more than 45 years working as an early childhood educator in the city and led efforts to secure the CPPI grant funding for the city.

Kershaw herself spoke in praise of Black’s work, having known her since before the founding of the EEC in 2005, when Kershaw was advocating for its creation as part of the Early Education for All campaign.

“That was Barbara’s vision from the very beginning, and we would travel around the state and talk about what we planned for this brand new department,” Kershaw said. “People were really skeptical and sometimes they would be mean. Then she [Black] would call me the next day and say, stick with it, because there’s going to be a day it makes a difference in the community.”

Speaking at the event, Black said she felt honored to be part of the early education community, both in Northampton and across the state.

“These are all of our kids, even if they’re not in school yet,” Black said. “All of the [early education] centers have taken that way higher than I ever could have imagined.”

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.