Teaching since 1997, Denise delayed completing college when she had her first child. For the next 10 years, Denise continued to accrue "continuing education units" and "professional development points" that did not count toward a bachelor's degree. About three years ago, Denise again attempted to return to college and finish her bachelor's degree, but was told that she would have to complete several remedial courses in order to fulfill the requirements. Since she only makes about $23,000 annually as a preschool teacher, she cannot afford to take all the courses needed.
Denise's story is similar to those of thousands of early care and education professionals in Massachusetts and across the nation. Will, and how will, higher education respond to our national need to prepare teachers of young children?
The paradox is clear. On the one hand, states are urging the people who work with our children to acquire a bachelor's degree. On the other hand, for most preschool teachers in communities, higher education seems inaccessible, unaffordable, irrelevant to their needs and unresponsive to the realities of life for today's young children. Desperately needed change is moving very slowly, frustrating both the "on-the-job" early educators who have historically not been required to have college degrees as well as the young college graduates who feel unprepared when they enter the "real world."
Recognizing this dilemma, eight national organizations ask every college president and teacher education administrator: What is the current state of your early education teacher preparation programs? And how can we make them better?
Finding answers really matters — not just to people like Denise, but more importantly, for our children's future. Increased teacher skill is a key factor in closing the "achievement gap" — a gap that begins well before kindergarten. The people caring for our young are not "babysitters" — they are important professionals whose impact is proven to extend beyond the early years and into the elementary and high school grades. Early experiences matter, and the skill of the staff providing those experiences has a lasting impact on children's future income and life circumstances.
It is no small matter that many higher-education programs are typically unprepared to provide a relevant and high-quality experience to people who choose this demanding occupation. Typically understaffed and under-resourced, early education departments have very high numbers of adjunct faculty, few faculty with actual hands-on experience working with young children and few incentives to teach classes at times or locations convenient for working adults. Much work is needed to improve their capacity to work with both the diversity of the teachers and the diversity of today's children.
Eight national organizations have issued a frank analysis and clear recommendations that can support higher education's efforts to reinvent its role and relevance for young learners. These recommendations are remarkably resonant with the work of Gov. Deval Patrick's Readiness Task Force and the Department of Early Education and Care.
There is no question: Teachers and providers who work with young children must be better educated and supported. But until higher education options improve, a bachelor's degree is a necessary but insufficient element of change.
Massachusetts faces a defining moment: We must both establish high public expectations for the education and care of our youngest children while providing professionals like Denise with a real opportunity to achieve those expectations.
To get started, Massachusetts needs key champions for children — knowledgeable and passionate people such as Massachusetts Secretary of Education Paul Reville, who will take these recommendations and coordinate a comprehensive effort in this state. Their work must help ensure that there are stronger links between teacher compensation and their credentials: The average preschool teacher like Denise makes a paltry $23,000 annually.
Massachusetts must be open to learning from other states, such as New Mexico and New Jersey, where there has been considerably more progress and success in higher education's work with early educators. And, even in the midst of the recent economic downturn, Boston and Massachusetts must sustain their important investments in initiatives like Boston's Thrive in Five School Readiness Roadmap and the state's promise of universal preschool for all.
Finally, the very small Massachusetts scholarship program for early educators must be significantly expanded in order to create more success stories like Michelle and Louisa.
With her high school diploma in 1993, Michelle worked with infants and toddlers by day and went to school at night. She earned her associate's degree in 1996. Unable to afford more college, Michelle became a center director and an early enrollee in the Massachusetts scholarship program. Her bachelor's degree will be awarded in January 2009. Michelle earns about $27,000 a year.
Louisa finished high school in the Dominican Republic. For 23 years, she has been working in family child care centers. During these years, she received a National Child Development Associate Certificate because it was paid for by a federal grant. Although she was working as a lead teacher, she needed to complete several English as a Second Language classes. With the aid of the Massachusetts scholarship, she anticipates an associate's degree in 2009. Louisa earns about $26,000 a year.
We are optimistic and hopeful that leaders within higher education, government and early education and care want to work together to achieve these important goals. People like Denise, Michelle and Louisa — as well as the children they teach — are depending on it.
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Valora Washington is the president of the CAYL Institute in Cambridge. Marta T. Rosa is the senior director of government relations at the Aspire Institute at Wheelock College.
