As a country, we need to finally recognize and fund early care and education as the public good that it is. We need to build a foundation that delivers on the promise of education as an expression of justice and a means towards a more equitable society.

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Listen in on a conversation with the authors of this essay in which they discussed how to turn these ideas into action for all young children, their families, and early childhood educators.

The heightened awareness and increased visibility of violence against Black people has incited widespread and long overdue outrage over White supremacy and the racism that devalues the lives of Black people. Simultaneously, through COVID-19 communities of color have experienced disproportionate illness and loss of life, which further underscores the systemic racism that pervades not just health care, but also housing, education, criminal justice and many other facets of American life. Many organizations have spent the past weeks reflecting on how to contribute to the swelling public response to these events and have committed themselves  to anti-racist action that will bring us closer to building an inclusive society. Our individual emotions and reactions have differed based on our identities and experiences of racism - including anger, grief, fear, exhaustion - but we all feel activated to radically change current systems.

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Our team at Bank Street examined the recommendations in our recently released white paper, Investing in the Birth-to-Three Workforce: A New Vision to Strengthen the Foundation for All Learning, with an eye toward more explicitly placing equity at the center of our call for reform. We offer recommendations for immediate steps States should take as well as long-term change we must begin to advocate for now to rebuild the early care and education system including:

  • Focus On Quality, Not Just Physical Safety: Create Paid, Credit-Bearing Professional Development Opportunities to Support Mental Health and Trauma-Informed Care

  • Pay Infant/Toddler Providers as Educators: Achieve Pay Parity with Similarly Credentialed Elementary School Teachers

  • Strengthen Systems: Build Diverse Policy Level Leadership

  • Equip Providers as Educators: Invest in Robust Models for Pre-Service & In-Service Professional Learning

  • Reach All Caregivers: Many Children Are Not In Formal Child Care

This is a crucial moment to consider the shortcomings of our child care system, as COVID-19 has exposed its fragility and the results of years of disinvestment. The Center for American Progress recently estimated that nearly half of early childhood programs nationwide could close as a result of the pandemic, leaving working families, especially families of color, with very few options. It has become clear that an equitable, high quality child care system is essential for rebuilding our economy.  Historically, broad support for child care spending has been mixed. But a recent survey revealed that 87% of voters approve of providing additional federal financial assistance to child care providers through the pandemic- a position which is held across party lines. We need to build from this momentum to generate the public will required to rebuild the child care sector with an explicit commitment to racial justice and equity --  for young children, families and the adults who care for them. 

As we consider the possibilities, we must be steadfast in our commitment to make the fundamental changes and investment required to finally recognize early care and education as the public good that it is. For too long, we have fought for change that has only translated to incremental impact. The early childhood field must come together to fight for substantial increases in public investment to create a radically different system, not give into recommendations that will maintain the status quo. Together we need to imagine what would happen if we commit to ensuring every child -- regardless of race, income, or opportunity -- has consistent, developmentally meaningful learning experiences from birth.

The Power of Developmentally Meaningful Early Care & Education

Neuroscience tells us that brains grow explosively in the first 1,000 days of life, developing more than one million neural connections a second. This is a time in which a sensitively attuned parent, family member, educator and caregiver makes the largest positive impact, building a base for future success in school, relationships, and life. Positive early learning experiences provide young children the secure attachment, trust, and confidence necessary for them to explore the world. The unique value and dignity of each child must be upheld and each family’s unique strengths, including languages spoken and cultural practices, should be recognized and celebrated. Providers need to partner with families, who play a primary role in children’s development and form strong communicative relationships.

Studies have shown that the developmentally meaningful interactions present in quality early care and education are critical to ameliorating the stark inequalities in kindergarten readiness; inequalities that are rarely addressed after second grade.  The same racial disparities that we see later in high school graduation rates and college enrollment are visible in children as young as 9 months and grow larger by 24 months.  And yet, our failure to adequately invest in the systems and structures that support our youngest children  means that less than 10% of the country’s early care and education programs are considered high quality. Solutions that ignore the systemic issues at play will only reinforce a narrative that the children or educators are to blame. We must build a new child care system that values the life of every child and is built with intention to be anti-racist.

Poverty Wages and Racial Wage Gaps

We have to understand in our country, the ways in which work performed by women and work performed by women of color has been historically undervalued... it is critical to understand, name, and look for ways to disrupt that.
— Lea Austin

At a convening Bank Street held in January 2020, Lea Austin, who serves as Director for the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment at U.C. Berkeley stated, “we have to understand in our country, the ways in which work performed by women and work performed by women of color has been historically undervalued... it is critical to understand, name, and look for ways to disrupt that.”  Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly half of the early care and education workforce relied on public assistance, 86% earned less than $15 per hour, and only 15 percent received employer sponsored health insurance.  Compensation for the early care and education workforce has increased by only 1 percent in the past 25 years. Poor compensation for the early care and education field as a whole not only devalues this critical work, but also the individuals who do it. It also contributes to feelings of stress and anxiety that make facilitating meaningful experiences that much more difficult.

Significant wage disparities also exist within the field. The early care and education field is made up of 40% women of color who are clustered primarily in the lower wage jobs, such as aides and assistants, within this already low wage field. Nationally, on average, Black female educators working full time in settings that serve children ages 0–5 make 84 cents for every $1 earned by their white counterparts. This 16 percent gap means a Black teacher would make $366 less per month and $4,395 less per year, on average, than their white counterparts. These women are critical to providing culturally responsive education to the children they serve. Rather than honor this, our system pays Black and brown women poverty wages to care for our future generation, and even less than their white counterparts.

We also invest significantly less public funding supporting early childhood educators through professional learning than we do K-12 teachers. During the course of a typical school year, $18 billion or $5,625 per teacher is spent on professional learning for K-12 teachers. Meanwhile, the federal allocation for professional learning for most early care and education teachers is 20 times less at just $234 per educator. This is not to say that K-12 teachers do not need additional investment in professional learning. Instead this illustrates that we have chosen to invest significantly more in our K-12 educators  -- who are 84% white -- when research indicates our best chance at improving long-term outcomes for children is investing earlier.

The Child Care Systems Needs Immediate Support and Long-term Commitments to Real Change

Recently, five senators introduced the Child Care Is Essential Act to Congress calling for a $50 billion increase in funding to stabilize the child care sector and  support re-opening. We must consider, immediately, how policymakers can thoughtfully and strategically invest relief dollars to begin to build a high quality child care system with equity at the center. The spending choices states make now must build the bridge from immediate relief to an early care and education system where every child has a right to developmentally meaningful early learning experiences and providers who are well trained, well paid, and respected. This will require substantial long-term investment at the federal, state, and local levels.

We have to start this with respect. We’ve got to respect our early childhood educators, especially those who work with infants and toddlers. And part of that respect means, nothing about them, without them. And that means they have to have a voice.
— Valora Washington

The recommendations that follow must be considered in collaboration with, not for, the communities they intend to serve. While social justice is at the heart of our organization’s mission, we are also keenly aware of the limits of Bank Street’s perspective. In the words of Valora Washington, former CEO of the Council for Professional Recognition, “We have to start this with respect. We've got to respect our early childhood educators, especially those who work with infants and toddlers. And part of that respect means, nothing about them, without them. And that means they have to have a voice.”

Right away states should consider channeling resources to:

Focus On Child Development, Not Just Physical Safety: Create Paid, Credit-Bearing Professional Development Opportunities to Support Mental Health and Trauma-Informed Care

Millions of young children, their families, and child care providers are experiencing levels of stress and trauma that are unprecedented during our lifetime. We must adequately invest in professional learning for the early care and education workforce to ensure that they have the skills and resources to meet these needs and to manage their own experiences of trauma at the same time. In the near term, policymakers must focus on ensuring that all children have access to the relationships and experiences that set the stage for learning and development in this context.

As we provide this support, we must recognize that child care is more than just a safe place for children to go when parents are working.  Providers need  more than health and safety training. Professional development should center on topics such as establishing supportive relationships with children and families, creating learning environments that cultivate exploration and discovery, facilitating interactions with and among children, and learning how to self-reflect and care for oneself during stressful and unpredictable times. The need for support in this area will not end when the pandemic does. Many children, families and communities of color disproportionately experience toxic stress due to community violence and police brutality, systemic racism, natural disasters and poor health outcomes caused by environmental factors.

Professional learning models can be designed with flexibility for providers who are currently working or at a more intensive pace for providers that are preparing to (re)enter the workforce. Free, open-source online learning materials should be organized in thematic cycles, initially prioritizing trauma and self-care with later sessions focusing on child development and the complex needs of very young children. States can pay a stipend for participation in professional learning and align programs to locally adopted competencies, licensing, and credential requirements. Partnerships with community colleges can bring professional learning programs to scale and enable the provision of college credits upon completion.

These efforts will not only better support developmentally meaningful experiences and growth for all children, but they also begin to address longstanding practices of inequity in the early care and education system by honoring educators’ time, previous experience and effort. Additionally, these initiatives can increase workforce retention and pave the way for pay parity with similarly elementary school teachers. States can take advantage of this moment to gain the support necessary to begin rebuilding early care and education child care systems. Together we must re-imagine how childcare workers are trained and compensated, moving from models that treat them as “providers” to ones that support them as “educators.” With this in mind, the following recommendations begin to outline what is possible long term if we harness the support growing for greater investment in the child care system.

Pay Infant/Toddler Providers as Educators: Achieve Pay Parity with Similarly Credentialed Elementary School Teachers

Many infant/toddler educators are getting paid more in unemployment benefits than they received for their work, and many in our country still consider early childhood educators to be “babysitters.” In order to sustainably improve the quality of early learning experiences, we need to invest in our early care and education system by treating it as a public good. This means paying infant/toddler educators at least the same salary we pay similarly credentialled elementary school educators. As Lea Austin points out, “If we said to a parent, ‘Your child can’t come to second grade unless you can pay the cost of that second grade classroom.’  Or ‘What you can afford is what your teacher is going to earn,’ people would be outraged, right?  We need to have that same outrage for what’s happening everyday with [child] care, for families that are economically stressed and the teachers who are being paid poverty-level wages.”

Strengthen Systems: Build Diverse Policy Level Leadership

To implement bold reform, the early care and education system needs strong system and policy level leadership. These leaders must be able to effectively manage complex, large scale policy design and implementation that reflects an understanding of the needs of children, families, and the caregivers that support them. New fellowship and training programs should expose emerging leaders to coursework and experiences that promote an understanding of child development and culturally responsive practice, while also understanding how to effectively design and manage large scale anti-racist systems change. They must commit to dismantling institutionalized practices, perspectives and behaviors that perpetuate racism, gender discrimination, and economic inequity. New policy leaders must deeply understand systemic racism and the ways it pervades our early care and education system. Policymakers must devise proactive strategies to recruit and support leaders who reflect the communities they serve and bring their underrepresented perspective and lived experiences to inform new system design.

Equip Providers as Educators: Invest in Robust Models for Pre-Service & In-Service Professional Learning

The profound impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the child care system will inevitably lead to the need to rebuild the workforce. An investment in immediate professional learning needs can build the foundation for more robust preparation and ongoing professional learning programs for early care and education providers. New professional learning strategies should include practice under the guidance of experienced educators, access to competency-based blended learning experiences (in person and online), the opportunity to collaborate with fellow educators, and flexible, responsive scheduling.

It is critical that efforts intended to deepen the expertise of the early care and education workforce produce educators who reflect the racial, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity of the children they educate. These educators bring invaluable funds of knowledge to their work, which are vital to providing high quality care. Policymakers must design new pipelines and pathways for the early care and education workforce which confront the systemic obstacles posed by racism and gender bias. To ensure broad access, credential programs for the early care and education workforce should incorporate full scholarships and consider issuing stipends for participation. The “Grow Your Own” theory of educator preparation, which emerged in response to the shortage of qualified diverse candidates for K-12 teacher positions, can serve as a useful example for replication in the early childhood field.

Reach All Caregivers: Many Children Are Not In Formal Child Care

 A system designed to strengthen the quality of early care and education must also incorporate strategies to reach sectors of the workforce that are not frequently engaged in training or other support, like the one million family, friend, and neighbor (FFN) providers who care for the majority of young children from low-income families. During the pandemic, these numbers will likely grow. Many families rely on FFN care because of a lack of access to affordable, quality child care. It also offers families the comfort of knowing children will be well cared for by an adult who lives in their community and is well known to them, such as a relative.

For many parents, FFN care enables them to avoid formal systems of care and education as long as possible, given patterns of racist practice that disproportionately affects Black and brown children. One example is expulsion rates. Research indicates that stark racial and gender disparities exist in expulsion practices, with young Black boys being suspended and expelled at much higher rates than other children in early learning programs. Recent data indicate that Black boys make up 18% of preschool enrollment, but 48% of preschoolers suspended. We need to confront the ways in which formal systems of care perpetuate these injustices, while at the same time investing in FFN as a critical part of our early care and education system that provides parent choice.

One potential model for supporting FFN care is home visiting from experienced educators or coaches. Home visiting models offer a customized and flexible way to provide one-on-one support within the provider’s regular care setting to improve provider-child interaction, enrich the care environment, and connect the families of the children in care with information and resources to support their child’s development at home. Virtual/remote or small drop-in playgroups at local libraries, community centers, or playgrounds are another potential strategy for reaching FFN providers. These forums can offer examples of developmentally meaningful interactions and activities, provide strategies for supporting children and families through trauma, and be used as a foundation to build networks of caregivers. Playgroups offer caregivers a chance to connect with each other, reduce feelings of isolation, and establish a community of support.

These connections could also build a strategy for recruiting interested FFN caregivers into formal professional learning programs that award them the credentials they need to earn higher wages. This would also recruit caregivers that have felt less welcome in formal care and enable them to build from their strengths and experience. As a nation, we are currently at risk of losing 4.5 million early care and education slots. The need to develop a robust pipeline to recruit and retain a diverse workforce that can effectively support all children is now more important than ever.

In Closing

The early care and education system can recover and begin to grow from the lessons learned during this unprecedented time in our nation’s history. We can begin to build a high quality, equity-focused early care and education sector that better meets the needs of children, families, and the workforce that serves them. Ultimately, we need to consider a bold national commitment to supporting our youngest children and families. Only then can we guarantee that all children receive the critical support they need during the most formative years of life. As a country, we need to finally recognize and fund early care and education as the public good that it is. We need to build a foundation that delivers on the promise of education as an expression of justice and a means towards a more equitable society.

 

Further reading:

Recommendations and content included in this piece is informed by Bank Street’s recently released white paper, Investing in the Birth-to-Three Workforce: A New Vision to Strengthen the Foundation for All Learning.

To learn more about Bank Street's Birth-to-Three Workforce Policy Initiative, please visit bankstreet.edu/birth-to-three.