Community Voices: The early learning system is in crisis

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The Covid-19 pandemic has not only caused economic and social disruption, but has accelerated issues facing early childhood education, and pushed the already vulnerable workforce into crisis.

Traditionally, the United States has been known for its underinvestment in public education. Many early childhood educators share the same problems facing their K-12 colleagues: poor compensation, overwork and burnout. In early childhood education, these issues are exacerbated by the fact that teaching and learning look very different compared to its K-12 counterpart. Young children have unique needs, and the responsibilities of early childhood educators often go far beyond learning colors, shapes and the alphabet.

Early childhood education refers to the period from a child’s birth to when they enter kindergarten. With brain development growing to 80% in the first three years of life, preschool is a critical period during which children begin to learn how to interact with others and develop interests that will remain with them throughout their lives.

Without intentional nurturing and communication with children 0-3, the neurological growth that is the foundation for language acquisition, literacy, numeracy and development of critical executive functioning skills could be limited. This means the chances of children entering kindergarten on the same level as those who have a strong foundation of early learning is lower. This has lifelong impacts, as studies show children who attend early childhood education programs are better prepared for school, especially in terms of academic development.

In May of 2021, Governor Ron DeSantis signed two pieces of legislation into law, HB 419 and HB 7011. HB 419 ensures students are assessed for kindergarten readiness while they are still in Pre-K so that struggling students can be identified and receive additional assistance if needed. HB 7011 created a statewide monitoring program to track students’ progress in their academic careers from pre-kindergarten through middle school. Although this is wonderful for student success, we still need to see changes for teacher success and retention.

Compensation is at the heart of the crisis affecting early childhood educators. Poor pay and low benefits for early childhood education teachers have contributed to a record number of vacancies that have been nearly impossible to fill. The number of K-12 teacher vacancies throughout Florida are staggering. On January 10, 2022, there were 4,359 advertised teacher vacancies compared to 2,368 on January 11, 2021, with 485 of those vacancies being in Hillsborough County alone as of October 2021. Early childhood education systems have also been impacted in massive numbers as well. In Pinellas County, there are 550 staff vacancies, which has pushed the number of children on waiting lists to over 3,000 due to staff shortages.

To build a better early childhood education system, teacher pay needs to be addressed. According to PreSchoolTeacher.org, the average median salary for early childhood educators in the Tampa and St. Petersburg area is $24,910. To put that in perspective, the 2021 poverty guidelines show the federal poverty income threshold for a family of four was $26,500, and a family of two was $17,420. Why would a person stay at a job that places them in poverty, when they could work in retail or at fast-food restaurants for more money and less stress? Salaries below the poverty line do nothing to entice new recruits, and it cannot retain existing teachers.

Having quality educators in childcare is crucial, but without paying a livable wage, the exodus of teachers who have stayed in the field solely for their love of children and their passion to educate will not continue. There is no way to sustain quality early childhood education without doing the obvious, pay teachers a livable wage.

Thrive by Five Pinellas is a collective impact approach to ensure an equitable, accessible, responsive and accountable early childhood system that will increase the percentage of children in our community “ready” for kindergarten. If there are no teachers to teach, how will our children be “ready” to grow? We invest in what we value. If we value our children, we must value the individuals tasked with pouring into them in the most important years of their lives: the early childhood educator.

As we move through this pandemic and continue to deal with staff shortages, we are asking parents to remember that a child’s first exposure to education starts at home. Parents can take small steps to help their child prepare for kindergarten, such as reading, counting, social skills and more. Parents can also get involved and work with their school as volunteers to fill the gap. Determine what is required from your child’s school or care setting to volunteer and take the time to get involved.

Dr. Bilan Joseph is the director of Thrive By Five Pinellas, a collective impact network that’s focused on creating, connecting, and supporting community resources for healthy development and kindergarten readiness for children under age 5. The Community Foundation Tampa Bay serves as the backbone organization for the network.