The early learning field is in crisis. In July 2021, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) reported four out of five providers were experiencing staffing shortages. Although the early childhood education field has historically experienced high levels of staff turnover, the added ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic took a dramatic toll on the workforce, labeling these individuals “essential” but not providing appropriate wages or protections to the providers.
This has only increased attrition rates – a more recent Start Strong PA study specific to York County reported that 89% of responding programs indicated they had a staffing shortage as of winter 2023.
What we’re seeing at Community Progress Council
Community Progress Council is no stranger to these dire stats.
“Now, years past the initial COVID-19 closures, we’re seeing the effects of children who were not able to appropriately socialize with others,” says Luisa Olivo-Wolf, Assistant Chief Program Officer at Community Progress Council. “The first five years of life are essential for a child’s overall development and well-being, and children who stayed at home may not have had as much opportunity to socialize with others, express their emotions, build their vocabulary, and enjoy new experiences.
As a result, Luisa says, Community Progress Council’s early childhood team has seen that children need more support in the classroom environment. And that means programs need to deliver resources to support classroom teachers, families, and children for this new landscape of early learning.
Innovating for a different kind of early learning environment
As the early learning leadership team at CPC considered the challenges facing teachers and supportive team members, they looked to create a classroom environment set up differently than many traditional child care centers.
“First and foremost, we’ve significantly increased the wages for teachers and assistant teachers,” Luisa says. “But more than just pay, we’ve also found that focusing on staff wellness, work-life balance, and classroom support systems are as important as wages when identifying opportunities for recruitment of early childhood education staff.”
Student-free days before the school year begins and throughout the year provide dedicated time for teachers to prepare lessons and work in their classrooms. Additional program closure days are devoted to professional development opportunities – not something team members have to tack on after hours or over the weekends.
In all, teachers see 24 paid days off in the school year, including program closures, holidays, and earned PTO – not to mention, summers off.
Support from a broader team
Teachers within CPC’s early childhood programs also have the support of a full team:
- Positive Behavior Intervention Supports and Inclusion coaches that help identify triggers for student behaviors, and help teachers develop a plan and skills to address them. These individuals also ensure positive interactions among children and adults and fidelity to the Pennsylvania PBIS model.
- Instructional Support Specialists who work with children with diagnosed and undiagnosed developmental delays to ensure their ability to fully participate in the classroom.
- Education Coordinators managing small teams to provide guidance, mentorship, and additional development for teachers in the classroom
- A dedicated Health team who supports children’s physical health and screens them for health concerns
- A Food Service team tasked with planning and preparing nutritious breakfast, lunch and snack every day, aimed at providing culturally responsive meals to students
- Family Coaches assigned to each family to help caregivers access resources and identify their strengths and goals to make progress on their own journeys
- Mental health supports, including parent support groups, for children and families with broader needs
Opportunity to grow
Tuition reimbursement offers the opportunity for teachers to pursue further education, whether it be their associate’s or bachelor’s degrees or even a master’s degree. Several teachers have taken advantage of this opportunity and successfully moved into more senior roles within CPC’s early childhood programs.
Luisa also acknowledges the need to build a workforce pipeline from the ground up. CPC began a teacher aide program in the 2022-2023 school year to support inexperienced individuals with a passion for supporting children. Participants in the program receive paid time to complete their child development associate credential, and paid time in the classroom to gain real-world, hands-on experience.
“It’s hard to go to school and have a full-time job,” Luisa says. “This program is really about removing barriers, while also creating a career path for new teachers and helping to alleviate some of the staffing challenges that early childhood education programs are seeing across the board.”
Seeing the results
Recent trainings offered just in the past few months include focuses on creating a culture of safety, building relationships that work, active supervision, creating inclusive classroom environments and reflecting our organizational values. Team members have also benefitted from wellness activities like on-site yoga and a painting experience.
Overwhelming, the response from current team members has been positive. Post-training surveys include positive comments from new and returning teachers and support staff:
“I love that there was so much progress being made, and I’m happy to see the commitment to the vision of Head Start.”
“I am excited to see how these changes can benefit our program in a positive way. Thank you for keeping us updated!”
“I have been here for many years. I appreciate the trainings we have had in the last couple of years.”
Impacting the entire community
As a community action agency, Community Progress Council serves low- and moderate-income families through a number of integrated programs. Reliable, affordable child care is oftentimes the number-one barrier for a caregiver looking to return to work, and so many of the challenges that the early learning field is seeing in recruitment are bleeding into other sectors of the workforce. Without consistent child care, consistent attendance at work will always be a challenge.
“When parents don’t have reliable child care, it’s much more difficult to pursue education, maintain a job, or support their families,” Luisa says. “And so our teachers and other early childhood team members have the ability to make a real impact for families pursuing opportunities to get ahead.”
It doesn’t hurt, she says, that teachers see their ability to positively impact the children in their classrooms every day.
The road ahead
Despite the challenges, Luisa stays positive.
“There is a lot of research, time, focus and energy in this field, and early childhood education programs are being recognized to be just as essential as K-12 schooling,” Luisa says. “It’s a time of evolution, and our entire team at Community Progress Council is dedicated to operating differently to create a better environment for our employees and the families and children we serve.
“If we can get the staffing needs met, there is so much opportunity ahead.”
Explore a different kind of early childhood career
- Earn a competitive salary with opportunities for growth
- Teach in a supportive environment with no nights and no weekends
- Benefit from professional development opportunities, paid tuition reimbursement, and paid classroom prep days
- Enjoy generous paid program closures, PTO, and summers off
- Make a difference for young learners and their families!
Learn more and apply today at www.yorkcpc.org/employment.