Op-ed: Early childhood education is vital to rebuild our economy

Our President and CEO, Maicharia Weir Lytle, co-authored an article highlighting the impacts of COVID-19 on Early Childhood Education, and advocating for needed policy changes to ensure this sector is not overlooked when making critical decisions. “Early childhood education has not had a seat at the decision-making tables to inform policies or practices that impact our sector and the communities we serve,” the article states. Even more-so now with the pandemic, lack of substantial public funding for health and safety operations has threatened the sustainability of many local nonprofits and small businesses. As these establishments continue to sustain remote and in-person programming in the face of logistical and financial challenges due to COVID-19, we need your help to make our demands heard. The co-authors are calling for all of us to push for the following changes:

1. An investment in our sector that ensures the health and safety of our staff and children by providing PPE (masks, gloves, hand sanitizer) to programs;
2. Expedited access to testing and results for our workforce, just like K-12;
3. Financial support for early education programs, which rely on state reimbursements, private tuition or a combination of both; and
4. A seat at the table when decisions are being made across the early education and K-12 continuum to allow our frontline input on regulations that impact our sector and to share lessons learned that might inform our K-12 colleagues.

Please see the link below to read more about how COVID-19 has affected these vital institutions, and what changes must be implemented to ensure their sustainability during and beyond this challenging time.