DiMario has sponsored a number of laws improving early childhood education
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| Sen. Alana M. DiMario attends a July 15, 2026 RIght from the Start event at Child Inc. |
Sen. Alana M. DiMario was honored for her work supporting early childhood education by the Rhode Island Association for the Education of Young Children.
“Early educators build the foundation for everything Rhode
Island will become. Investing in them is investing in our future,” said Senator
DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham). “This award
means so much coming from an organization like RIAEYC, which is made up of so
many of the educators providing for the well-being of our young children. I am
honored and energized to keep working with my colleagues in the General
Assembly to support our early child educators and give our children the present
and future they deserve.”
Senator DiMario received the Sue Connor Special Friend of
Rhode Island’s Children - Early Childhood Advocate award, which recognizes
“significant contributions to early childhood education in Rhode Island” at
RIAEYC’s annual Early Childhood Conference Saturday, Oct. 10
EDITOR'S NOTE: Sen. DiMario was one of the several South County Democratic women targets by far-right coffee baron Dave Levesque who financed nine primary challengers on Sept. 9 through his collection of 40 political action committees. These PACs all bear the name "League of Rhode Island Businesses (LORIB)" DiMario and her colleagues beat all of these straw candidates.
However, there are still LORIB-backed candidates running in the November 3 general election running against Charlestown's state Senator Victoria Gu, and South Kingstown Reps. Carol McEntee and Kathy Fogarty. Sen. DiMario will return to the Senate since she is unopposed in the General Election. - Will Collette
Since 2021, Senator DiMario has co-chaired the Permanent Legislative Commission on Child Care in Rhode Island, which recommends policies and legislation that will provide for quality, affordable and accessible childcare and early education services.
In addition to her work on the commission, Senator DiMario
has sponsored a number of laws improving early childhood education, including improving
individualized education plans (IEP) for children and their parents, elevating
the voices of parents and teachers in the state’s educational system,
including in early childhood education and improving access to childcare by standardizing
state zoning laws for family childcare homes.
She also successfully advocated for the state budget to fund
behavioral
health training for staff in out-of-school programs and free
childcare for most childcare workers and personally supported workforce
training for child mental health professionals by covering
membership fees for infant and child care professionals.
“Senator Alana DiMario has been a steadfast advocate and
supporter of Rhode Island’s children, families and early childhood programs and
workforce for many years, and I am grateful for her leadership and partnership
in this work and in her co-chair role on the Legislative Commission on Child
Care. RIAEYC congratulates her on this well-deserved award!” said RIAEYC
Executive Director Lisa Hildebrand.
RIAEYC is the state affiliate of the National Association
for the Education of Young Children. RIAEYC and NAEYC are dedicated to
improving the well-being of all young children, with particular focus on the
quality of educational and developmental services for young children. In
addition to providing support, training and advocacy for its early childhood
educator members, RIAEYC works alongside state agencies to manage several large
programs, including BrightStars, TEACH RI and LearnERS.
