According to recent data, 80% of brain development takes place between birth and the age of three. By four years of age, 90% of brain development has occurred, making fostering that development key to ensuring the long-term stability and success of every individual.
The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children recently released its annual survey looking into the state of early childhood education in Louisiana. Their data suggests that early childhood educators are facing a slew of challenges that are increasingly forcing them out of the field. That’s a huge concern for many working parents who entrust their developing children to these professionals nearly every day.
Mattilyn Karst Batson is the Policy and Research Director at the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children and spoke to WWL’s Tommy Tucker about the importance of early education and the issues pre-k educators are facing in the region.
“Many early educators know they contribute to our economy, but don’t feel like they can keep up with rising costs, and it’s become increasingly hard to sustain wages for staff in a way that really honors the work that they do,” Batson explained. "Our survey showed that early educators are making around $28,000 per year and that’s about half what their kindergarten – grade 12 educators are making."
Early educators make roughly half of what K-12 educators do, according to recent data, and that’s a big problem when it comes to luring the types of candidates schools look for.
“Early childhood educators truly are brain architects. Young children’s brains are developing so quickly, especially between the ages of birth until age four, that we know they’re a critical piece of our future generation, but also a critical piece of our current economic infrastructure for working parents. And those institutions certainly aren’t able to pay their staff what they deserve,” Karst Batson went on to say.
Not only are childhood educators underpaid in the face of ever-increasing wages, but Karst Batson adds that the stressful work schedule keeps many away from pursuing a degree in the field to begin with.
“Early childhood education centers on being open year-round and all day. They generally open between 6-7 am, and they close around 6 pm every day. This is all to support our workforce,” she noted to WWL’s Tommy Tucker.
“In Louisiana, 2/3 of children under the age of five have all available parents in the workforce. So, we know the vast majority of our youngest children are under the care of someone so their parents can work,” she noted.
Frustratingly, many early childcare providers and educators want to help within their field more than they’re able to due to time and financial constraints.
“Providers see the need in their communities. They see the wait lists on the state level for the Childcare Assistance Program. There are thousands of kids who are eligible, but cannot get access to affordable care due to a lack of funding,” Karst Batson says. “Educators want to do more, but unfortunately, their hands are tied,” Batson adds.
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