Editor’s note: This commentary is by Kay Curtis, the owner/director of Happy Hands: School for Little People, a five STARS licensed home program in Brattleboro. The school is 13 years old and serves 16 families. Three-quarters of the families are low-income and qualify for state subsidy.
Recenty we all celebrated as Sen. Bernie Sanders, Gov. Peter Shumlin, Rep. Peter Welch and Sen. Patrick Leahy announced that Vermont will receive a Race to the Top grant of $37 million for early education. We know that for every dollar invested in early education, the state can see a $7 return.
We appreciate the hard work of all involved to bring this funding to Vermont. We all agree that quality early education is a key to ensuring that all Vermonters can achieve their full potential so that we can have a thriving middle class for generations to come.
We know that in order to achieve our goals, we must ensure that all families have access to quality, affordable child care, and too few families in Vermont qualify for state subsidies. Unfortunately, the Race to the Top funding cannot be used to support working families in this way.
As Gov. Shumlin noted, we need the ability to organize ourselves in order to have our voices heard and to work together for the best system possible for parents, children, and providers.
We also know that one of the biggest issues we must address is the wage gap between early educators and other teachers who work in the K-12 schools. In part because of this wage gap, the turnover rate in early education is approximately 40 percent. Gov. Shumlin acknowledged that early educators need to be granted the ability to organize so that the issue of fair pay can be addressed.
Vermont Early Educators United is committed to ensuring quality, affordable early education for all Vermont families and also to ensuring that our providers are treated with respect and paid fairly for the important work that they do. The National Women’s Law Center conducted a study in 2010 that shows that union representation of the early education workforce results in improved services, increased reimbursement rates, and more access to early education for low-income families.
The child care and early education we provide allows low-income parents – many single moms with children – to go to work or school and improve their financial situations, often working their way off of welfare benefits. As early educators, we are very connected to children and parents, and are experts in the needs of low-income, working families. Providing us a seat at the table when policies are being discussed will benefit both the state and the families we serve.
As Gov. Shumlin noted, we need the ability to organize ourselves in order to have our voices heard and to work together for the best system possible for parents, children, and providers. I hope the Vermont Legislature will support our right to organize this year and pass the bill that will begin a process for providers to choose whether or not they would like to have a union.
