The Economic Divide Present in Early Childhood Education
Playing with Money
Interviews
Connecting with people who want to be the change they wish to see in the world and hearing their stories and how they and their organizations have moved us one step closer towards equitable access to early chidlhood education without the economic pressures.
Cindy Lehnhoff
Director of National Child Care Association
Cindy, a teacher for over 30 years often asks herself if what she is doing is making a difference. However, she knows the importance of early childhood education based on her first-hand experiences.
Childcare is part of the economy
It all comes down to money and the gap in academic achievement only widens as the child grows older.
51% of children are living in a childcare dessert
A place where qualified teachers and proper funding does not exist. Universal child care does not exist making it impossible for equitable access to affordable childcare to exist.
"We need to take care of children, or there will be no future"
Children enrolled in an ECE program are more likely to achieve later in life and become productive citizens. More advocates are needed to prove the immense importance of ECE.
"Kids are people too"
Yvette Murphy
Member of UNICEF
Yvette worked at Childhood Education International where she did trainings around the world and is currently trying to partner with an organization in Chile.
Center the rights of children no matter where or who they are.
It is all a money game that also involves the need for cultural development, community awareness, and parental support.
ECE not being recognized as a right is a barrier.
If a generation is unable to learn, it exacerbates the disparities in communities and families. The gap keeps getting wider as the inequalities just continue to grow. Education is the root of development and it is not enough to just put children into a classroom, they need to actually learn.
Economic inequalities = educational inequalities but educational inequalities ≠ economic inequalities
ECE is a foundation for learning for life and those who are vulnerable can never pull themselves out.
Hillary Beuschel
Director of Stranahan Foundation
The Stranahan Foundation works with other organizations to increase high-quality access to early childhood learning.
Education is one of the only things that levels the playing field.
Education is a smart investment for children everywhere as it opens up many opportunities to succeed.
There are not enough high-quality childcare slots.
She believes the US needs to implement a universal ECE program to put an end to inequalities rooted in generational differences. There are not enough seats for every child in the classroom and access needs to be expanded in a variety of ways.
If one can start school on track, life will be so much easier.
Teachers make poverty-level wages despite being in a stressful environment and COVID-19 brought immense challenges to teachers.