BOSTON – Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) Commissioner Samantha Aigner-Treworgy announced today she is stepping down, after spending more than two years in the role during a time when the agency’s mission was focused on keeping child care programs safely operating in the midst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Her resignation is effective March 8, the date of the next meeting of the Board of Early Education and Care, and an acting commissioner is expected to be named at that meeting.
“We are very supportive of the Commissioner’s bold strategic vision and are deeply grateful for her tireless leadership during the COVID-19 health crisis,” said Education Secretary James Peyser. “She has laid a solid foundation for strengthening the organization and improving access to affordable, high-quality child care, as we emerge from the pandemic.”
“Leading EEC at a time when child care has played such a critical role for the Commonwealth has been challenging and extremely rewarding, from the first moments of the pandemic when we opened emergency child care for the families of first-responders, medical personnel, and other essential workers, so children could safely remain in care,” said Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy. “I am grateful for the tireless efforts of the EEC team and the thousands of child care providers across the Commonwealth who worked to safely continue caring for children. Serving as Commissioner as we have risen to meet these unprecedented challenges has been the honor of my career, and I look forward to continuing to support the work ahead.”
“On behalf of the entire Board, I am indebted to the Commissioner for her leadership and for the expertise and innovation she brought to the Commonwealth’s early education and care landscape” said Board of Early Education and Care Chair Nonie Lesaux. “Through the strategic plan, and several ongoing initiatives, her leadership will continue to have an impact on educators and on children and families.”
Among many accomplishments, during her tenure, Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy led a strategic planning process in collaboration with the Board and developed and implemented the Commonwealth Cares for Children (C3) grant program. The C3 grants, an innovative approach to stabilizing operations and bringing infrastructure support to child care during the recovery period, were launched in the summer of 2021 and were extended through the end of June 2022. To date, the program has distributed approximately $230 million to child care providers across Massachusetts.
In January, EEC also launched Testing for Child Care, a first-in-the-nation statewide testing initiative that allows staff and children 2 years and older, who are close contacts of a COVID positive individual, to test daily for five consecutive days with rapid antigen tests and remain in the child care setting as long as the test is negative.
Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy was sworn as commissioner in August of 2019. She grew up in Massachusetts and began her career in early education and care as a preschool teacher in Illinois. For the past decade she has worked in early education policymaking, finance, and systems improvement. Prior to joining EEC, Commissioner Aigner-Treworgy was the chief of early learning for the City of Chicago. |
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