Worthy Work, Still Unlivable Wages

Despite the significant increase in qualification requirements for the early childhood workforce and the wealth of research on early development that has emerged in the last 25 years since the release of The National Child Care Staffing Study, early childhood teachers remain undervalued and underpaid.

According to new findings, many in the early childhood workforce worry about being able to feed their families and rely heavily on public supports despite the fact that they may have attained postsecondary degrees and certificates.

Please join us for the release of “Worthy Work, STILL Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study,” by Marcy Whitebook, Deborah Phillips, and Carollee Howes. New America will host a critical discussion on strategies to change how our nation supports and rewards the adults who are helping to shape America’s next generation. Participants will specifically reflect on four overarching elements of the new paper:

1. Then and Now: Trends in Wages, Education, and Turnover among Early Education Teachers
2. Economic Insecurity among Early Childhood Teachers
3. The Public Costs of Inadequate Compensation
4. Policy Efforts to Improve Early Childhood Teaching Jobs

Take part in the conversation online using #WorthyWages and following @NewAmericaEd. and @CSCCEUCB.

Agenda:

Opening Remarks: 

Anne-Marie Slaughter
President and CEO, New America
Author, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All" and "The U.S. Economy Does Not Value Caregivers" (The Atlantic)

Presentation of Findings:

Marcy Whitebook
Co-Author, Worthy Work, STILL Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study

Deborah Phillips
Co-Author, Worthy Work, STILL Unlivable Wages: The Early Childhood Workforce 25 Years after the National Child Care Staffing Study

Panel 1:

Angie Roberson
Project Coordinator, EQuIPD (Education, Quality Improvement and Professional Development) for early care and education programs in Guilford County

Peter Mangione
Co-Director, Center for Child and Family Studies, WestEd

Megan Gunnar
Director, Institute of Child Development
Regents Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor, University of Minnesota

Miriam Calderon
Senior Partner, School Readiness Consulting

Moderator:

Laura Bornfreund
Deputy Director, Early Education Initiative, New America

Panel 2:

Joan Lombardi
Senior Advisor, Buffett Early Childhood Fund
Former Deputy Assistant Secretary and Inter-Departmental Liaison for Early Childhood Development, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Nancy Folbre
Professor Emerita, Department of Economics, University of Massachusetts Amherst

Jason Sachs
Director, Early Childhood Education, Boston Public Schools

Carol Brunson Day
Board President, the National Association for the Education of Young Children

Moderator:

Lisa Guernsey
Director, Early Education Initiative, New America