Pay For Early Childhood Educators and Childcare Providers

Pay For Early Childhood Educators and Childcare Providers

Pay For Early Childhood Educators and Childcare Providers
How do we recognize preschool teachers and childcare providers for the important work they do without further raising the cost of high-quality childcare and preschool? We want to hear what you think! Join us and the Oregon Head Start Association for a Twitter chat on the topic. For background information on the topic, check out these recent stories that highlight the issues at stake:

The New York Times: Why Are Our Most Important Teachers Paid the Least?

This article showcases the demanding work done by preschool teachers, and the low pay they receive for such work. The article also discusses the body of research that shows that high-quality preschool can be effective at closing opportunity gaps for low-income children and children of color.

The Washington Post: Will a College Degree Requirement Lead to Better, More Respected Preschool Teachers?

This article highlights the challenges facing preschool teachers, including high demand for early childhood programs, high staffing requirements and corresponding high costs, and limited government support to help families pay for early education. Research has shown that early childhood education has a huge impact on children’s future success, and yet the teachers providing this critical education are undervalued, underpaid, and often under-trained. The article also discusses Washington, D.C.’s efforts at implementing a degree requirement for early childhood educators.

New America: Teacher Stress and Low Compensation Undermine Early Learning (video)

Despite the growing research on the benefits of high-quality early education, wages for the workforce are so low that many teachers worry about how to put food on their tables. This video highlights the stresses facing early childhood educators, who rarely receive compensation, benefits, or professional supports they need to provide high-quality education.

US News & World Report: The Great Degree Debate

This article places the debate over whether or not preschool teachers should be required to have college degrees within the context of larger conversations happening in America on the value of college degrees more generally. How might the backlash against “college for everyone” lead to innovative ways to approach preschool teacher training? If we accept that preschool teachers need to be highly qualified, how can we give more teachers access to the necessary training?

The Guardian: How America’s “Childcare Deserts” Are Driving Women Out of the Workforce

This article explores the impact of raising childcare workers’ pay on families who pay for childcare. While the piece looks at childcare providers more broadly, the issue of how to improve pay rates without pricing families out applies to preschool as well. If families are not provided with enough support, increasing wages for preschool teachers will increase the cost of already expensive programs, and ultimately force parents–mostly mothers–out of the workforce.

New America: Education is a Game Changer for Women as Well as Children

This op-ed argues for degrees for early childhood educators, presenting the experience in North Carolina as a successful path to improving educators’ levels of education. Workers in North Carolina were provided with scholarships and guidance that enabled them to earn their degrees without going into debt.

Bellwether Education Partners: What We Can–and Can’t–Learn from New Jersey to Improve Pre-K Teacher Training and Pay

This article reflects on the lessons from New Jersey’s Abbott preK program, which worked to raise credentials and pay for preschool teachers.

A Look at the News on Housing in Oregon

A Look at the News on Housing in Oregon

A Look at the News on Housing in Oregon

The housing crisis is impacting communities across the state of Oregon. Multnomah County reported last week that 80 people impacted by homelessness died on the streets of Portland in 2016. Meanwhile rural Oregon is experiencing its worst housing crisis in a generation, and Central Oregon’s rental market makes it increasingly difficult for people to find safe and affordable housing. As we highlighted this week, high housing costs can also contribute to food insecurity, an issue that impacts 194,070 children across the state.
 A Look at the News on Housing in Oregon

Non-profit organizations are working to expand available affordable housing, but that alone can’t solve this issue. State Representative Allisa Keny-Guyner (D-Portland) argued earlier this month that housing should be a core responsibility of government. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler seems to agree, tweeting that U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson should step aside if he doesn’t believe that government can be part of the solution to the housing crisis. Portland has recently decided to subsidize the construction of 203 low- and super-low-rent apartments on the Southwest Waterfront, as well as 200–300 affordable apartments on Southeast 30th Avenue and Southeast Powell Blvd.

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

Here at Children’s Institute, we’re passionate about young kids, and the research and policies that support their health and education. Not surprisingly then, we have holiday book recommendations for both the children and the health and early education advocates on your shopping list!

Recommendations for Kids

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI StaffGreat children’s books withstand the test of time. Carole Shellhart shares a recommendation for Go, Dog. Go! by P.D. Eastman, a book she read as a child and her own young children, and which is now her grandson’s favorite. Carole also recommends The Snowy Day, by Ezra Jack Keats, with its quiet backdrop of the snowy day as Peter explores his world. The cut-paper, graphic illustrations place Peter squarely in his room or walking among the snow. There is a peaceful exploration and discovery that is appealing and lovely.

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

Dana Hepper recommends another classic—Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Alan Ahlberg. Young children enjoy the illustrations and repetition of “I spy” on each page, as well as the connections to familiar nursery rhymes.

 

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

For those looking for something more recent, Soobin David Oh recommends A is for Activist by Innosanto Nagara. This book is perfect for families and teachers who care deeply—and want their children to care deeply—about civil rights, environmental justice, and activism in general. The book uses alliteration and rhyme to empower children as active citizens.

 

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

Sheman Alexie’s first children’s book, Thunder Boy Jr., is another great new choice, recommended by Danielle Pacifico-Cogan, about a young boy looking for his own name. The themes of personal and cultural identity are brought to life with Yuyi Morales’s striking illustrations.

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

 

If your kids are ready for slightly longer books, Melissa Duclos recommends The Princess in Black series, by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale, which are perfect for adventurous kids into princesses who fight monsters. For the new independent reader on your list, Melissa recommends Dog Man by Dav Pilkey, a hilarious (to six-year-olds) graphic novel about a superhero police officer who is half man, half dog. Watch out for Petey, Dog Man’s evil cat nemesis!

 

More Books for Kids

Ada Twist, Scientist, by Andrea Beaty

Best Word Book Ever, by Richard Scarry

Dear Zoo, by Rod Campbell

Global Babies, by the Global Fund for Children

Happy in Our Skin, by Fran Manushkin

Juna’s Jar, by Jane Bahk

Last Stop on Market Street, by Matt de la Peña

My Brother Charlie, by Ryan Elizabeth Peete

On a Magical Do-Nothing Day, by Beatrice Alemagna

The Magic School Bus series, by Joanna Cole

The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle

Recommendations for Adults

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI StaffFor educators who want to take on anti-bias practices, Soobin also recommends Anti-Bias Education in the Early Childhood Classroom: Hand in Hand, Step by Step, by Katie Kissinger. Kissinger has been a dedicated educator and activist in Oregon for decades, and is the founder of the Threads of Justice Collective which promotes social justice in early childhood classrooms and homes. Her latest book provides an accessible, yet unflinching, practical guide for educators, at a time when we are looking for guidance on embedding culturally responsive practices in education.

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

Also challenging traditional notions of education, Dr. Marina Merrill recommends First Things First!: Creating the New American Primary School, by Ruby Takanishi. Takanishi’s book provides an evidence-based framework for integrating preschool with K–education, providing for increased access to early education and ultimately a new vision for our public schools serve our youngest students.

30 Book Recommendations for Kids and Adults from CI Staff

While not strictly a book about education,Rafael Otto’s recommendation—The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, by Michelle Alexander—provides a new perspective on the familiar preschool-to-prison pipeline. Alexander argues that “we have not ended racial caste in America; we have merely redesigned it” by targeting black men through the War on Drugs and decimating communities of color.

More Books for Adults

Between the World and Me, by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Coherence: The Right Drivers in Action for Schools, Districts, and Systems 1st Edition, Michael Fullan &‎ Joanne Quinn

Early Childhood Systems: Transforming Early Learning, by Lynn Kagan and Kristie Kauerz

First School: Transforming PreK-3rd Grade for African American, Latino, and Low-Income Children (Early Childhood Education Series), by Sharon Ritchie

Men Explain Things to Me, by Rebecca Solnit

Rethinking Readiness in Early Childhood Education: Implications for Policy and Practice, by Jeanne Marie Iorio and Will Parnell

The Developmental Science of Early Childhood: Clinical Applications of Infant Mental Health Concepts From Infancy Through Adolescence 1st Edition, by Claudia M. Gold

The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas

White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide, by Carol Anderson

Early Education in Oregon by the Numbers

Early Education in Oregon by the Numbers

The Status of Oregon Children & Families: 2017 County Data Book recently released by Children First for Oregon compiles data on how kids across the state are faring in health, education, and economic security. Here we highlight some key findings underscoring issues of access to high-quality early education for children in low-income or rural households and provide information and resources about early education programs currently serving Oregon’s children.
Oregon is Falling Behind                              

  • 28 states and the District of Columbia outpaced Oregon in enrolling young children in school in 2013-2014.
  • When Oregon’s 3- and 4-year-olds turn 5, they will have already spent less time in the classroom than the average young child in the U.S.
  • Fewer than half of Oregon’s young children have attended early education programs over the last decade.
  • 41 percent of Oregon’s young children who qualify for state preschool programs are not served.

Where You Live Matters

  • Over 21,000 3- and 4-year-olds living in poverty in Oregon lack access to state-funded early education programs.
  • In its first year, Preschool Promise served children in only 17 out of 36 counties in Oregon.
  • Rural children are acutely affected by a lack of access to high-quality early education.

Programs Currently Operating in Oregon

  • Head Start and Oregon Prekindergarten: This is free preschool program for 3- and 4-year-olds living at or below 100% of the federal poverty threshold. Students also receive nutritious meals, medical screenings, and home visits. Demand for the program currently exceeds the number of available spaces.
  • Preschool Promise: This program, overseen by Early Learning Hubs around Oregon provides high-quality education to children living at or below 200% of the federal poverty threshold, and currently serves 1300 children. More information on the program is available in our Preschool Promise Brief.
  • Reach Out and Read: In coordination with pediatricians and nurse practitioners, this program serves over 76,000 children across Oregon each year and distributes more than 140,000 books.
  • SMART (Start Making a Reader Today): This program pairs almost 10,000 students in Oregon with a network of 5,000 reading volunteers who read one-on-one with children in grades preK-third, for one hour each week.

 

As we have previously discussed in this blog, improved access to early learning is a strategy for achieving equity. Our current early education programs, though, are leaving too many low-income children behind.

The Importance of Early Literacy

The Importance of Early Literacy

The Importance of Early Literacy

Materials Provided by the Children’s Book Bank

This week’s visit by the Children’s Book Bank to the Early Works preschool program at Earl Boyles is a good reminder of how important early reading is to young children. Consider that:

  • Eighty percent of child’s brain develops by age 3.
  • Reading to young children can impact how their brains process stories and contribute to future academic success.
  • Children who know more words by kindergarten are better off academically.
  • A child’s reading level in third grade is a consistent predictor of high school graduation and college attendance rates.

For additional information on the importance of early literacy, check out these articles:

The Importance of Early Literacy

Education Week: Doctors Enlisted to Deliver Early-Literacy Message

NPR: Baby’s Got Mail: Free Books Boost Early Literacy

New America: Reading Recovery Program Closing Literacy Gap for Early Readers

Huffington Post: Building Blocks to Literacy

Romper: What Happens In Your Baby’s Brain When You Talk, Sing, & Read to Them?

And if there’s a child in your life who you love to read with, take some time over the holidays to continue working on early reading skills. For tips and resources on how, visit Talking is Teaching, and stay tuned to the CI Blog for some great book recommendations for kids, coming next week!