In Today’s Issue - Dying rivers green, DOE cuts and what they mean for ECE, Survey results, = about 1 cup of coffee read time.

Green Rivers & Luck of the Irish: As many folks wake up this morning a bit weary-eyed from celebrating St. Patrick’s day, Chicago’s famous green river is now fading back to its original color (though not sure if it’s that much better). Since 1962, members of the Chicago Journeymen Plumbers have dumped 40 pounds of vegetable-based orange dye powder — a secret recipe — into the Chicago River to get that world-famous neon-green hue for the holiday weekend. But don’t worry, the dye is plant-based and non-toxic. I wonder if you can find it at Whole Foods…🤔

Survey Results Are In!

A huge thanks to all those who participated in our survey. The response rate was great, and we appreciate the fact you took a couple of minutes to answer some questions. 🥰 If you were one of the lucky winners of the gift card, don’t worry, we’ll email you directly to deliver your prize this week!

We thought we’d share some of the results with our readers so they can get a sense of what others are doing in the market. Take a look below!

Payment Mix:

It looks like subsidies are an integral part of our readers’ childcare operations (about 73%).

What Tools Do You Use?:

Procare and Brightwheel seem to be the CMS tools of choice, representing over 50% of survey results. What was interesting is that 17% of our readers do not use any management software at all!

Department of Education Cuts

It looks like the Department of Education was not been able to hide from the vast array of cuts in government funding. 🪓The U.S. DOE recently announced huge cuts, reducing its workforce by nearly 50% on March 11, 2025. That’s why we will focus the next two issues on this topic to go over potential impacts and how the funding works. And based on the survey, it’s clear that a substantial portion of ECE leaders rely on funding to support families.

In this issue, we will touch upon potential cuts to Head Start and how it actually gets its funds.

Head Start Funding:

The Head Start program, which offers comprehensive early childhood education, health, and nutrition services to low-income children and families, faces potential elimination under the proposed plans. Advocates for ending Head Start, argue that it does not provide sufficient value, though various studies highlight its benefits. The end of Head Start could leave many vulnerable children without access to critical early learning opportunities. But this is not fully covered by the DOE, so the impact may not be right away.

Let’s first cover how Head Start gets it’s money 💴:

• Congressional Appropriations– Head Start funding comes from the federal budget, which is actually approved by Congress through annual appropriations.

• The funds are allocated under the Health and Human Services (HHS) budget rather than the Department of Education budget.

• In Fiscal Year 2024, Head Start received approximately $12.3 billion in federal funding.

So how do cuts to the DOE impact Head Start? Well, that’s tied to Title I funding, that IS controlled by the DOE.

Loss of Title I Funding for Publicly Integrated Head Start Programs

• While Head Start itself is funded by HHS, many Head Start programs are integrated into public schools that receive Title I funding from the DOE.

• Title I funds are used to:

✅ Extend Head Start hours. ✅ Provide extra staff and classroom support. ✅ Offer additional services like meals, transportation, and special education.

• If DOE funding for Title I is cut or eliminated, public school-based Head Start programs would lose this supplemental funding, forcing them to reduce services or close classrooms.

So while there is a direct impact, the proposed DOE cuts may impact Head Start programs integrated with public schools at this time. So the $12.3B allocated to the HHS can’t be eliminated through these types of cuts. It has to go through Congressional appropriations and budgets. But that doesn’t mean they are not at risk.

It is important to reach out to your Congressional representative to ensure that funding for these critical programs remain in place.

Here is a link to help find your representative so you can be proactive and reach out: Find Your Rep

So take a few minutes and make sure your voice is heard!

The Internet is a Playground:

🗓️ On this Day in History: In what was considered the world's biggest art heist, in 1990 two men pretending to be police officers stole 13 works, from the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. And the art is still missing! 🖼️

🥷🏻 Uh Oh!: $5.7B is just how much Americans lost to scams in 2024. So if anyone is calling to get your name, SSN or access to Bitcoin wallet, don’t do it!

🚕 New Tech: Remember Back to the Future 2 and flying cars? Well, it looks like flying taxis might become a real thing here soon in London!

🐑 Awwww: I want my belly rubs!

YOUR VOICE COUNTS

Is there a topic you want more info on or want to share a funny story? Then let us know! Shoot us a quick email at [email protected]. This newsletter is for you, and well, you should have a say, don't’ you think?