Kristina Gawrgy

202-350-8857

April 30, 2009 

 

(Washington, D.C.) –The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is proud to celebrate May 1, 2009, as National Worthy Wage Day. Early childhood professionals and families nationwide have chosen today to highlight the need for increased pay, better conditions of work, and greater respect for our young children’s educators and caregivers.

 

“Educating and caring for our youngest children is demanding work,” said Mark R. Ginsberg, Ph.D., executive director of NAEYC. “The education and nurturing that children receive today will lay the groundwork for their success in school and beyond. The work of early learning professionals demands respect and fair compensation.”

 

At least 2 million people across the country are working to teach and care for our young children. Despite the value of their work, the average salary of a child care staff member is less than $20,000 annually most often with no benefits.

 

President Barack Obama’s administration has already taken the first steps in ensuring that a down payment has been made toward adequate investments in early childhood education with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). While some of that investment will go toward professional development and training of high-quality teachers, a large part of maintaining that high-quality early childhood workforce is by ensuring our teachers are adequately paid for their hard work and expertise. 

 

Worthy Wage Day came out of an ongoing Worthy Wage Campaign, launched in 1991 by the Center for the Child Care Workforce. The national campaign was designed to draw attention to the important work of early childhood educators and the urgent need to improve the wages, benefits, professional development opportunities and working conditions for early childhood educators.