Building an Infrastructure for Quality
An Inventory of Early Childhood Education and Out-of-School Time Facilities in Massachusetts
The Children’s Investment Fund commissioned the Facilities Inventory, the first-ever comprehensive review of ECE and OST facilities, to determine whether physical learning environments support policymakers’ and educators’ ambitious educational goals for children at risk, or whether some spaces might actually interfere with successful teaching and learning. The Facilities Inventory reviewed the impact of physical space on children’s health and safety, behavior, physical development, cognition, and social and emotional well-being. It examined accessibility and how adult workspace either enhances or impedes staff effectiveness.
The Fund sponsored the Facilities Inventory project and worked with research partners, The Wellesley Centers for Women and On-Site Insight, to develop the “Program Facility Standards for Early Care and Education and Out-of-School Time Programs” and to conduct studies of a statewide sample of Massachusetts ECE and OST program sites, as well as a supplementary study focused on a larger sample of program sites in Boston.
The Children’s Investment Fund thanks the following funders for their generous support for this project:
- Barr Foundation
- The Boston Foundation
- The Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care
- Thrive in 5, a program of the City of Boston and United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley
We are also grateful for the guidance provided by the Facilities Inventory Advisory Committee members, who carefully balanced recommendations for high-quality space with practical considerations on what is feasible in the current economy.
Click on the following links to download this report and/or the executive summary, the Program Facility Standards, the statewide data report and the Boston data report. Please note that you will be required to log into your CIF account in order to access these downloads. CLICK HERE for instructions as to how to register.
- Click here to download the "Building an Infrastructure for Quality: An Inventory of Early Childhood Education and Out-of-School Time Facilities in Massachusetts" full report and Executive Summary.
- Click here to download the "Program Facility Standards for Early Care and Education & Out-of-School-Time Programs". (Updated September 2012)
- Click here to download the Massachusetts statewide "Facilities Inventory Project Data Report"
- Click here to download the "Facilities Inventory Project Boston Report"