Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham ParentChild+ Program Framingham Public Schools

Program Overview

Who We Are:

The Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham (ECAF) is a collaboration of community advocates who believe in and actively promote early education and create a welcoming community for families. Our mission is to provide and support the healthy growth and development of young children, prenatal through age 8, by strengthening families, advocating for high quality learning experiences, and providing comprehensive resources. We center all of our activities around strength-based practices and recognizing the role of the family as the child's first and most important teacher and advocate.

What We Do:

ECAF's Core Functions

●Services and Supports for Families & Young Children

●Universal and targeted outreach

○Connect families to services

○Continuous communication pathways built for families

○Collaborating with partners to reach wider community

●Family Education

○Signature Play, Learn & Grow Together Groups

○ParentChild+ Core and Family Child Care Model

○Ages & Stages interwoven into all family engagement programming

○ECAF Virtual Library of pre-recorded educational programs

●Transition Support

○Intentional curriculum that aligns with MA Early Learning Standards

○Passport to Kindergarten program

○Family education to navigate systems

Referral system to partners and district

●Community Partnerships & Professional Learning

●Family Engagement

●Resources & Referrals

Cost Info

Student and Volunteer Success Stories

The Early Childhood Alliance of Framingham has helped me in so many ways and I am grateful for knowing Jane Cohen and all of her staff. While attending classes, my children learned to socialize more. I was also able to participate in the ParentChild+ Home Program where my teacher, Erica Toochin, came to my house twice a week to help me engage with reading to my kids and to look at new ways to read a book and interact together with toys. The program staff was always there to listen and share resources as well as build my confidence as a person as well as a parent, cheering me on to finish school and sharing my artistic talents with the program.Since knowing Jane Cohen, I have seen her go above and beyond to help families that she knows are in need of any help. She introduced my family to the Taly Foundation. This is a non-profit organization that helps families financially so these kids can attend preschool. I would never have gotten the opportunity to have my kids go to preschool without the support of this program. My children are very shy soft-spoken children, and now they are open to new possibilities and experiences. They have more confidence in themselves and are able to interact with the kids in playgroup and now at preschool.