PITTSFIELD — The Berkshire Family YMCA’s pre-school classroom at 292 North St. shows all the signs of an active, productive early childhood education space: Eager, enthusiastic kids, caring teachers, art supplies on the shelves, art on the walls and cots on the floor.

On Wednesday, story time featured a special guest: Gov. Maura Healey, who sat down crisscross applesauce on the floor with the 4- and 5-year-olds.

“My name is Maura and I’m your governor,” she said. “Wanna help me read a story?”

During a tour of the newly renovated Berkshire Family YMCA, Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike Jr. and Gov. Maura Healey check out a room that features an exhibition from the Berkshire Museum.

Healey, visiting Pittsfield to highlight the state's investments in the community, took a spot on the floor to read “Bella and the Umbrella” by Pearl Atkins Schwartz at lunchtime on Wednesday. She also stopped by the Berkshire Innovation Center and Girls Inc., and at a Democratic Party meet-and-greet event at Hot Plate Brewing Co.

The visit also celebrated a $31.2 million investment, part of the "Fair Share Bill" supplemental budget signed by Healey last month, intended to help families obtain childcare and before- and after-school programs and shorten waiting lists. Healey has proposed $1.22 billion for the program in her fiscal 2027 budget.

Amy Kershaw, the state commissioner of Early Education and Care, and Stephen Zrike Jr., secretary of the Executive Office of Education, accompanied Healey on her tour of the city. State Rep. Tricia Farley-Bouvier, D-Pittsfield, and Mayor Peter Marchetti were there to greet the governor, who is seeking reelection.

During a tour of the newly renovated Berkshire Family YMCA, CEO and Executive Director Christian Bianchi, left, speaks with Gov. Maura Healey, Secretary of Education Stephen Zrike Jr. and Commissioner of Early and Education and Care Amy Kershaw.

On a quick tour of the Y’s classrooms — the toddlers and infants were skipped on account of naptime — Healey heard how state investments helped the Y renovate its classroom space and commit to serving at least 64 percent lower-income families. Christian Bianchi, the nonprofit’s executive director, said 73 percent of its students meet that criteria.

About $2.3 million in state funding helped underwrite the Y’s $12.4 million renovation in 2023.

“To meet Gov. Healey here at our childcare facility to discuss all of the financial support that the state of Massachusetts is providing to us … it means the world to us," Bianchi said. "It makes all the difference.”

Gov. Maura Healey passes around the basketball with some youths Wednesday in the gymnasium of the newly renovated Berkshire Family YMCA in Pittsfield.

Healey chatted with Bianchi, Childcare Director Laurie Vanuni and behavior and inclusion specialist Alex Roman about their roles, and shot some baskets with a youngster before taking a few questions from the media.

Healey said investments in early childhood education have increased the number of childcare seats by 22,000 and provided financial assistance to an additional 17,000 families. It's also improved take-home pay for early childhood educators, who traditionally have been poorly paid compared to their public elementary school counterparts.

“We've increased wages for childcare providers generally, because we want people supported in the workforce, and we want these centers to remain open and to grow because childcare is maybe one of the greatest costs facing so many families every day,” Healey said.

During a tour of the newly renovated Berkshire Family YMCA, Gov. Maura Healey speaks with CEO and Executive Director Christian Bianchi, left. At right is YMCA Childcare Director Laurie Vanuni.

Asked about immigrant access to childcare, Healey pivoted to a point about the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing President Donald Trump to revoke the Temporary Protected Status of people from Haiti and Syria. She said she and other governors are "devastated by this decision, which essentially has ripped the rug out from so many immigrant families around this country."

Healey, who then spoke about her record of opposing U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement arrests in sensitive locations such as churches and healthcare facilities, was asked why the state Department of Corrections still has a contract with the Department of Homeland Security that allows state officers to perform the duties of federal officials. A number of state civil liberties advocates have called for ending the agreement.

Healey said that contact was approved by former Gov. Deval Patrick, and said it only applies to state prison inmates upon their release.

"I'm a governor who's taken, I think, the strongest action of the country in fighting ICE and their unlawful and constitutional legal attacks on our residents and our communities," she said.

Healey also addressed a Supreme Court ruling allowing states to ban transgender students from high school sports. She said the state's LBGTQ+ population, particularly young people, should know the state still has their back.

"What I want transgender youth and members of the LGBTQ+ community in Massachusetts to know is that you are safe, you are protected and our anti-discrimination laws remain in place and will be enforced," she said.