For more information, contact:
Kristina Gawrgy
202-350-8857
For Immediate Release:
June 17, 2009
State and national leaders focus on the future of
America’s early childhood workforce
(Charlotte, NC) – Leaders from 36 states joined national experts in Charlotte, North Carolina over the weekend to collaborate and refine their work on implementing integrated state professional development systems. Participants’ focused on improving system policies that support both the current and future workforce, and in turn positively impact the quality of child care in all the settings, including Head Start, schools, and other early childhood programs.
The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is leading an effort to develop and enhance state professional development and career systems. NAEYC recently released Workforce Designs: A Policy Blueprint for State Early Childhood Professional Development Systems, along with a one-of-a-kind database of related state policies that is being used by states to build or sustain their systems.
“We need to ensure that early childhood professionals have our full support – from professional standards and career pathways, to help with financing higher education and other professional development, to ensuring articulation so that coursework leads to credentials, and compensation to recruit and retain educators,” said Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC. “Putting a focus on each state having policies for a comprehensive state framework and funding that supports all early childhood education professionals is critical if we want to make sure that every child has high quality experiences in early childhood education programs.”
The work day helped states move toward a shared vision of a high-quality early childhood workforce by connecting and sharing ideas, strategies, and successes with each other. Participating states included Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
This work is part of NAEYC’s Early Childhood Workforce Systems Initiative, generously supported by the Birth to Five Policy Alliance and Cornerstones for Kids.
Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children has nearly 90,000 members worldwide. The association is the largest and most influential voice for early childhood education professionals and the field of early childhood education in the United States.
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Founded in 1926, the National Association for the Education of Young Children is the largest and most influential advocate for high-quality early care and education in the United States.
