Early Childhood Support Organizations

This unique public-private partnership will serve as a national model to ensure public dollars result in measurable gains for children

The early learning field is fragmented and inequitable. There exists a significant need to more fully support early childhood providers in their leader, educator, and curriculum development efforts, particularly for centers based in communities often overlooked and under-resourced. Early Childhood Support Organizations (ECSOs) serve as intermediary organizations that partner with center-based childcare providers to help them implement tested approaches to improving instruction and practice in high-quality programs serving children from birth through age five. 

Through a four-year, $20M public-private partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), New Profit’s ECSO initiative aims to provide resources and align financial incentives to support better early education outcomes for children enrolled in subsidized childcare programs. In 2020, New Profit and EEC selected three ECSOs to lead the work and, in early 2021, these organizations launched formal partnerships with local childcare providers throughout Massachusetts. Each ECSO partnered with centers serving a total of 50 classrooms and, over the next three years, each will add 50 classrooms annually from new centers. 

New Profit has provided $750,000 in funding to each ECSO to help them make initial investments to scale their models. In addition to $9M in funding committed by EEC, New Profit is currently raising an additional $9M to support ECSO development and scaling through direct investments, fund implementation, facilitation of a learning community, and a multi-year evaluation of the initiative. Through the four years of the initiative, the ECSOs will directly impact the quality of instruction of more than 16,000 children through their work with more than 100 program leaders and 1,200 teachers. 

In line with New Profit’s overall approach to systemic change, this work will also serve as a national model. With the recent $50B in COVID-19 relief funding dedicated to early education, governors and state education leaders are looking for innovative models. These funds present a unique opportunity to ensure that new public dollars result in measurable gains for children.