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Description
Dr. Valora Washington of the Community Advocates for Young Leaders Institute (CAYL) discusses ways that the early learning workforce can be better professionalized and supported through policymaking and data analyses.
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A
There
are
certainly
disparities
in
those
professional
development
opportunities,
as
well
as
compensation
opportunities
for
career
advancement,
and
so
our
next
panel
of
experts
is
going
to
discuss
some
of
these
disparities
and
how
you
know
they
potentially
harm
both
educators
and
children
and
share
opportunities
and
their
work
on
helping
to
advance
professionalization
of
the
early
workforce.
So
I
am
very
happy
to
introduce
our
panel
here.
A
We
have
a
lot
of
expertise
on
this
panel,
we'll
be
joined
by
the
laura
washington,
who
has
a
long
history
in
this
field,
but
whose
current
role
is
as
the
founder
and
ceo
of
the
community
advocates
for
young
leaders
or
cayl
institute
and
then
we'll
also
be
joined
by
daphne
basic.
Who
is
an
associate
professor
of
education
and
public
policy
at
the
university
of
virginia?
B
B
Desperate
is
almost
the
very
definition
of
the
profession
more
so
in
community-based
settings,
but
also
in
public
schools
where
preschool
and
the
staff
who
work
in
those
rooms
are
too
often
seen
as
an
add-on,
rather
than
as
an
integral
part
of
the
school
system.
Following
this
panel
you're
going
to
hear
from
the
boston
public
schools,
which
is
exemplary,
largely
because
it
is
so
exceptional,
but
it
doesn't
have
to
be
this
way
at
this
point
we
want
to
make
in
this
session
today.
B
The
point
we
want
to
make
is
that
your
leadership
as
state
legislators
really
can
make
a
difference.
The
merriam-webster
dictionary
says
that
disparity
contains
the
latin
words
this
meaning
apart
and
not
so
a
disparity
is
a
kind
of
not
equality
or
non-equality,
and
it's
used
to
describe
serious
unfair
inequalities
and
its
adjective
disparate
is
often
used
to
emphasize
strong
differences,
and
this
is
exactly
the
situation
that
we
find
in
the
early
learning
workforce,
especially
when
we
compare
them
to
their
k-12
colleagues
in
their
preparation,
compensation
and
opportunities
for
career
advancement.
B
So,
let's
look
at
three
big
indicators
that
we've
been
asked
to
talk
about,
and
the
first
is
preparation,
so
it's
common
knowledge
that,
in
the
k-12
system,
people
are
expected
at
a
minimum
to
have
a
bachelor's
degrees
and
in
many
school
districts
shortly
thereafter.
So
many
years
of
service
they're
also
expected
to
get
a
master's
degree
and
while
in
the
early
care
and
education,
especially
in
pre-k
programs,
as
you
heard
earlier,
there
are
many
many
people
and
requirements
for
bachelor's
degrees.
B
When
we
look
at
compensation,
we
see
similar
situation
in
that
equal
pay
for
equal
work
and
equal
qualifications
might
be
an
ideal
but
they're
in
the
early
childhood
arena.
It's
far
from
an
achievement.
What
you
heard
earlier
is
that
preschool
teachers
in
all
settings
earn
about
12
dollars
an
hour
kindergarten
teachers
earn
about
23
dollars
an
hour,
and
elementary
teachers
earn
about
32
dollars
an
hour,
and
this
is
a
significant
inequality
or
disparity
for
people
who
consistently
work
in
the
same
field.
B
Since
early
childhood
is
basically
identified
and
defined
as
birth
to
age,
eight
or
third
grade.
So
what
this
non-equality
means
is
economic
distress
for
early
childhood
educators
who
are
disproportionately
people
of
color
and
who
are
also
working
with
the
youngest
children
who
are
infants
and
toddlers.
B
This
non-equality
also
devalues
an
entire
field
of
work,
because
it's
based
largely
on
a
market-based
system
that
depends
on
parents,
ability
to
pay
and
early
childhood
education,
as
you
already
heard,
is
one
of
the
most
underpaid
fields
in
the
country.
So,
as
a
result,
people
who
choose
to
go
into
this
field
really
have
a
huge
pay
penalty.
B
You've
already
heard
they
have
an
average
of
eight
times
higher
poverty
rates
than
teachers
in
public
schools,
and
this
inequality
hits
women
of
color
really
really
hard
because
about
40
percent
of
early
educators
are
people
of
color
and
they
occupy
the
lowest
paying
jobs
in
the
field.
And
yes,
even
in
this
impoverished
field,
there
is
a
racial
wage
gap
in
which
black
early
childhood
educators
are
paid
78
less
per
hour.
B
So
when
we
think
about
these
disparities
and
why
they
matter,
we
have
to
go
back
to
thinking
about
our
children
and
the
consequences
on
our
entire
generation
of
children.
The
children
we're
caring
for
and
educating
today,
the
alpha
generation
those
children
born
since
2010,
and
they
are
clearly
impacted
by
these
kinds
of
disparities.
These
disparities
hurt
children.
What
we
know
about
this
alpha
generation
is
that
they're
very
diverse,
they're,
very
tech
immersed.
B
They
have
very
fluid
families,
they're
globally,
connected
what
we
can
expect
life
to
be
like
and
their
adult
world
is
very
different
and
so
they're
going
to
be
a
transformative
generation,
and
we
need
to
make
sure
that
they
have
the
best
teachers
working
with
them
and
the
highest
quality.
That's
going
to
prepare
them
for
the
world
they
go
to,
but
these
alpha
generation
children
are
harmed
because,
as
a
society,
we
invest
so
much
less
in
children,
the
younger
they
are
among
center-based
teachers.
B
And
if
you
do
find
a
program,
it's
likely
to
strain
the
family
budget,
one-fifth
of
your
household
income
and
the
program
you
find
is
likely
to
be
of
uneven
quality
with
the
undercompensated
and
ill-equipped
staff,
and
our
nation
is
out
of
step
with
comparable
nations,
because
most
oecd
nations
already
offer
universal
or
near
child
care,
and
we
don't
and
the
direct
beneficiaries
of
early
childhood
education,
which
is
these
alpha
generation.
Children
cannot
vote
for
their
own
needs
and
the
political
influence
of
early
childhood
advocates
has
been
relatively
weak.
You've
already
surmised.
B
B
Yet
employment
doesn't
help
them
generate
the
wages
that
lets
them
meet
their
own
basic
needs,
and
we
see
that
early
educators
have
a
high
rate
of
using
public
assistance
programs
like
chip
and
snap
and
tana,
and
this
in
itself
tells
you
a
lot
about
the
status
of
this
workforce
so
professionalizing.
This
workforce
is
really
important
for
educators,
as
well
as
for
children,
but
there's
a
lot
that
can
be
done.
This
is
not
a
hopeless
situation,
nor
does
it
have
to
stay
this
way.
B
So
solutions
begin
when
we
respect
and
honor
the
early
childhood
education-
and
there
are
many
pathways
forward.
Early
educators,
working
conditions
and
pay
are
not
inevitable,
but
they're
a
product
of
the
policy
choices
that
have
consistently
let
down
the
women,
mostly
women,
who
are
doing
the
work
and
with
systems
change
and
policy
change.
B
We
can
change
this
and
make
this
field
more
attractive
now
and
in
the
future,
and
better
prepared
to
meet
the
needs
of
the
alpha
generation,
and
that
is
what
we
must
do
so
with
our
policies,
the
policies
that
you
can
make
a
difference
in
your
states.
We
can
be
architects
of
the
change
that
we
want.
So
here
are
a
few
ideas
about
what
you
can
do
in
your
roles
as
state
legislators.
B
We
need
your
support
to
help
us
think
about
the
qualifications
and
educational
supports
that
the
workforce
needs.
How
can
we
provide
more
scholarship
forms
more
support
for
people
to
have
access
to
higher
paying
jobs
and
be
able
to
have
the
skills
that
we
need?
How
can
your
policies
really
improve
the
environmental
standards
that
really
educators
have
to
work
under?
How
can
your
policies
hold
programs
accountable
for
having
a
safe,
supportive
work
environment?
B
Your
policies
can
make
a
difference
in
compensation
and
financial
relief.
There's
a
lot
of
that's
happening
in
various
states
along
this
area,
and
so
again
your
public
policy
work
can
support
better
compensation
in
states.
It's
also
important
that
you're
collecting
the
data
that
helps
us
do
the
analysis
and
see
progress
as
it's
being
made.
I
also
talked
a
lot
about
how
other
things
could
be
helpful
in
this
arena,
such
as
family
leave
and
family
support,
income
supports
for
child
care
and
many
other
things.