With over 30 years of teaching experience, Amy Upton prides herself on setting the bar for high-quality early education and childcare. As the executive director of East Side Learning Center in Concord, which operates both early childhood and school-age childcare, quality care is important to her and her business. So when the state unveiled its […]
Last month, New Hampshire Executive Councilors John Stephen and Joe Kenney published a column in NH Journal explaining their decision to vote down a childcare quality contract in favor of funding the childcare workforce grant. Since then, as new information has clarified the state’s inability to fund the workforce grant, they both said they stand […]
Every time I read an article about New Hampshire’s childcare crisis, I notice the same thing. The conversation almost always focuses on infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children. Those concerns are real and deserve attention. Families need affordable early care and education, providers need sustainable funding, and educators deserve wages that reflect the importance of their […]
After more than a year of debate, New Hampshire childcare providers received a direct answer this week on childcare workforce grant funding. In a series of letters exchanged between federal officials, state officials, and an advocacy group, it has been determined that federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, dollars cannot be used to […]
Whether you’re a parent or provider, navigating New Hampshire’s childcare landscape can be tricky. With hundreds of programs and varying resources, it’s difficult to know where to start as a parent or provider. To help address those challenges, the state contracts with the Community Action Partnership of Hillsborough and Rockingham Counties, which provides statewide child […]
A new study comparing early education systems among the 50 states and Washington, D.C., puts New Hampshire at 48th, suggesting it has one of the worst systems in the country. Published Tuesday, the “States with the Best and Worst Early Education Systems” from WalletHub, a personal finance company, graded states based on access, quality, and […]
As a businesswoman and a young mother, Elizabeth Asch knew she would need someone to watch her young children. She owns the River Valley Club, a health and wellness facility in Lebanon that offers fitness classes, tennis and pickleball, a day spa, a hair salon, and other amenities to its adult clientele. Initially, the club […]
Nobody can end the suffering of others, but everybody has the power to reduce it. Out in the world, it is easy to spot the affirmative embrace of that option. A door is held for the person behind, a retiree becomes a community volunteer, a “Let me help you with that” floats across a big-box […]
