Degreed teachers are the cornerstone of pre-k quality. Current brain research proves that very young children need quality early learning to reach their full potential. It makes no sense that lead teachers in Florida’s pre-k classrooms are held to a lower degree requirement than teachers of slightly older children. The teaching that builds social skills, develops vocabulary and introduces mathematical concepts is vital. How vital? Consider that nearly half of children in Florida start school behind – creating an achievement gap that widens with each passing year. Successful child development and education outside the home requires more than babysitting. It is a job for educated professionals.
Degreed teachers get results. A report from the National Institute for Early Education Research shows that the only pre-k programs that have delivered proven long-term educational gains for children have fully qualified teachers with 4-year college degrees. Degreed teachers made measurable gains with students, 99% gains in print skills; compared to 26% when taught by teachers with fewer credentials, 74% gains in spelling; compared to 18% when taught by teachers with fewer credentials, and 36% gains in math; compared to 15% when taught by teachers with fewer credentials.
Florida has the capacity to require degreed lead teachers. The FSU Center for Prevention and Early Intervention proved that Florida will have the capacity to require pre-k to be taught by a bachelor-degreed teacher by the year 2013. New college graduates in early education, teachers moving to Florida, and the part-time “working retired,” are expanding Florida’s degreed pre-k workforce. Misinformation about pre-k teacher shortages promoted by industry groups is not to be believed.
Development in the earliest years determines future outcomes . Behavioral science and the study of child development indicate that the youngest years of a child’s life establish key social and educational aptitudes. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study, which tracked children over 40 years, found that “every dollar invested in quality Early Care and Education saves up to $17 dollars on government expenditures by reducing costs of remedial education, grade retention and crime.” Children denied quality pre-k are less likely to graduate from high school, get a job, buy a home or pay taxes.
Pre-k quality is lacking in Florida. The National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER) assesses early care & education quality in ten benchmark areas and ranks states by spending. Florida meets only four of the ten benchmarks for quality – next to worst in the nation. Florida currently ranks fifth to last in per pupil state support. As a result, too many of Florida’s kindergarteners are not ready to learn. Three years later, one in every four Florida third-graders fails in reading.
Florida children are missing out on the benefits degreed teachers deliver. Qualified teachers are the backbone of any educational system. Their students score better on language tests, have higher self-confidence, are more sociable, and present fewer behavioral problems. Teachers guide their students’ personal and mental development and make them want to achieve. Children with learning disabilities are less likely to fall through the cracks when a degreed teacher is in charge. According to NIEER of the 38 states that offer preschool programs to four-year olds, 27 utilize bachelor degreed teachers.
Low standards and low salaries drive professionals from pre-k classrooms. Most bachelor-degreed pre-k teachers are unable to earn a salary equivalent to a K-12 teacher. Lack of pension and benefits contribute to high-turnover.
Parental choice must be preserved. Florida’s pre-kindergarten program is based on a mixed delivery system, allowing the program to be provided in school, faith-based, and private institutions. Currently only school programs are funded to provide high quality programs in the summer, including full-day and bachelor degreed teachers. The passage of degreed teacher legislation needs to continue the mixed delivery system, and not push out the parent options outside of school programs.
The 2010 Florida Legislature initially proposed a 15% cut for the Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) program budget, but thanks to passionate advocates the cut was abandoned, along with the flawed proposal to weaken the teacher/student ratio to 1:12. Throughout the budget process, Florida’s legislative and executive branches do not make pre-k a priority. For example, unspent VPK dollars are not reinvested in the program. Instead, they revert back to the state’s general fund.
Requiring degreed lead teachers in pre-k classrooms in 2013, does not have fiscal impact until 2013. The estimated cost for degreed teachers is $60-million annually. The cost of upgrading teacher credentials will be paid for from the savings realized by cutting the failure rate of third- graders in half. Currently Florida’s cost for non-promotion grades pre-k through 3 rd exceeds $250-million annually. Investing in pre-k teachers with a bachelor's degree will save more than $1-billion over ten years.
Florida voters have gone on record. In 2002 they passed a constitutional amendment requiring “every 4 year old child in Florida be provided a high-quality pre-kindergarten learning opportunity… delivered according to professionally accepted standards.” To date, the will of the voters has not been met. More recently, national polling, conducted by Pre-K-Now, shows that voters reward candidates who respond to early childhood needs. Nearly 7 in 10 voters want more federal support for state-funded pre-k.
Legislative Platform:
Affirm the proven link between high quality pre-k and longer term education reform. Pass legislation and the associated appropriations to require bachelor degree pre-k teachers by year 2013. Improve Florida’s pre-k program to meet the ten national standards established by the National Institute for Early Education Research (NIEER). Consolidate the oversight of all early learning programs under one agency as an alternative to the current fragmented configuration.
Additional Recommendations: • Support the appointment of a Chancellor for the Department of Education committed to improving Florida’s early learning program with a focus on quality teachers, national standards, and future workforce development. • Money allocated for degreed teachers must follow the teacher rather than program type, allowing for mixed delivery and parent choice. • Encourage the Governor to enact an Executive Order, directing the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation and the Department of Education to come forward with an improvement plan to raise Florida’s pre-k quality in accordance with national standards. • Support efforts by current pre-k staff to earn the necessary credentials for advancement.
At a time when states are facing record budget deficits, a strong federal commitment can help them to invest in what works by strengthening pre-k program quality and building capacity to prepare all children for success in school and life.
Per pupil funding is too low for many states to improve the overall quality of programs and there is a growing disparity in funding between states – in five states total spending per pupil (local, state and federal dollars) reaches over $18,000, while in five other states it is lower than $3,000. The Early Learning Challenge Fund is moving through Congress and features two types of competitive grants. One, Quality Pathways Grants, for states that have already have pre-k in place to improve their program’s quality, and one, Development Grants, to states that have the beginnings of a pre-k program for planning and implementation.
Without a federal commitment tied to quality programs, children in underserved areas will continue to fall behind those who are able to benefit from early education opportunities.
• Create a Presidential Early Learning Council and appoint a strong leader as the White House point person
• Amend major education laws to include pre-k as an integral part of federal support for public education.
• Establish and fully support a pre-k incentive grant that encourages state efforts to expand the capacity and improve the quality of publicly funded pre-k programs. This goal could be accomplished by the President’s proposed Early Learning Challenge Grants, amendments to Elementary and Secondary Education Act/No Child Left Behind or through stand-alone legislation.
Florida’s economy hinges on quality child care. Access to child care reduces absenteeism among working parents and paves the way for a more productive workforce. It is a good investment by government. The High/Scope Perry Preschool Study quantified results for children in quality early care settings by following them through adulthood. To date they have found that “every dollar invested in quality Early Care and Education saves up to $17 on government expenditures by reducing costs of remedial education, grade retention and crime.” Other long-term benefits include higher average wages earned, higher likelihood of home ownership, and future taxes paid to the state.
Child care businesses should be required to meet higher standards of quality care in order to obtain a license. In October of 2010 two children died while in a state licensed child care program. Although state laws allow counties whose child care requirements meet or exceed the state standards to have their own licensing agency overseen by DCF, only 6 out of the 67 counties in Florida have their own regulatory agencies.
Child care is an economic necessity for most families with small children. Three out of five children under age 6 are in child care because more than 60% of their moms and 90% of their dads are in the labor force. Most families today need two wage earners to make ends meet.
Child development lags as children wait. Nearly 200,000 Florida children currently receive financial aid to attend a child care program. Many more wait for care. 250,000 additional children meet eligibility requirements and thousands are known to linger on waiting lists. Those who wait for care fall behind and generally stay behind. Qualifying families must be below $33,075 for a family of four (150% of the federal poverty level). Families make co-payments based on a sliding scale.
Families with children with disabilities struggle to find appropriate care. Without care, parents are forced to stay home and lose possibly needed income. Inclusive child care allows children of all physical, emotional and academic abilities to learn in the same learning environment. Benefits include; children with disabilities learn age-appropriate communication and social behaviors from their non-disabled peers and children without disabilities learn to understand and accept differences.
Florida’s child care marketplace is hard-pressed to support quality. Economic factors drive the industry. These factors lead to low salaries and few benefits. The average wage for professional staff in Florida programs hovers around $8 per hour. Few receive medical insurance or paid sick leave. Teachers with bachelor’s degrees are unable to receive compensation comparable to that of a public school teacher. Turnover is rampant: nearly 4 out of 10 child care teachers leave their jobs annually. Quality suffers.
Cost: For parents, cost is a primary consideration. Because quality is hard to assess and expensive, many parents unknowingly turn to marginal or possibly harmful child care. Many parents find that quality care is more expensive than sending a child to college.
Financial Gaps: Centers report that the income from subsidized child care plus the family contributions is routinely less than their per-child operating costs.
Professional Standards: By the end of the first year of employment, child care teachers need only 40-contact hours of training and/or pass a competency test at the 5 th grade level.
Reading and language skills are developed in the earliest years. 80% of brain development occurs before a child’s second birthday. Experts advise that children who do not have high-quality early learning opportunities, whether at home or through childcare, begin school with a vocabulary as low as 5,000 words. Those who benefit from quality early care begin school with a vocabulary of as many 20,000 words.
State cuts further stress the early care system . At a time when waiting lists are growing, state dollars are shrinking. The 2008 Florida Legislature reduced the School Readiness program by $11.6-million.
Voters have a strong preference for early care that promotes student achievement and closes the achievement gap in safe and enriching centers, family home settings, and public schools. 80% of voters agree that Florida needs to do everything it can to ensure every child has early experiences that support school readiness.
Legislative Platform:
Consolidate the oversight of all early learning programs under one agency as an alternative to the current fragmented configuration. Increase state investments to move kids off the waiting lists and into quality care. Raise state child care licensing requirements to meet national standards and remove exemptions.
Additional Recommendations: • Salaries must be commensurate with the educational levels of staff. Create a career ladder. • Provide opportunities for families of children with disabilities access to inclusive and appropriate child care. • Help parents shop for quality child care through Quality Rating Systems.
The Child Care & Development Block Grant (CCDBG) is the primary federal grant program that provides child care assistance to states through a formula. In 2007, federal funding for the Child Care and Development Block Grant was $4.979 billion. The amount of TANF funds used for child care, however, has declined steadily from its peak of $4 billion in 2000 to $3.1 billion in 2007. As of early 2008, an estimated 380,240 children nationwide were on the waiting list for subsidized child care, an increase of 4% from 2007. CCDBG is widely recognized as an important funding stream used to access quality child care, promote healthy child development and help families access and succeed at work. Florida received over $105 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for CCDBG, with $8.7 million for expansion of quality, and $5- million targeted for infants and toddlers.
The upcoming reauthorization of CCDBG legislation provides an opportunity to reform child care, dramatically improving quality. Child care programs are critical to the ability of states to deliver pre-k in diverse settings. States need federal leadership and resources to develop the capacity of the child care system to provide pre-k. Child care centers need the resources to improve the quality of services for all children.
• Conduct hearings on the condition of child care in the United States, with focus on safety, accountability, affordability and quality;
• Reauthorize and strengthen CCDBG and appropriate sufficient funding to ensure all eligible children are able to receive assistance, and that states can meet quality improvement goals;
• Establish quality child care as a goal for any use of related federal funding;
• Require quality funds to be linked to measurable program outcomes, especially training and preparation of the workforce; and
• Require states to create or strengthen Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRIS) to tier provider payment rates based on quality indicators.