6. Develop common standards for early childhood programs and professionals and support them with professional development opportunities.

7. Attract, better compensate, and retain members of the early childhood workforce.

8. Align key components of the early childhood and K-3 systems to ensure children are ready for kindergarten.

Case Studies and Evaluations (Research):

•  Pennsylvania- The state reorganized its teacher credentialing system by creating a PK-4 license and a separate 4-8 specialization. The system also allows teachers to have dual certifications. The program is designed with the intent of improved teacher quality by generating a new crop of teachers with specialized training and credentials. (20) (21)

• San Francisco-C-WAGES (Compensation and Wage Augmentation Grants for Economic Success) is a unique example of a city initiative aimed at raising salaries for early educators. The local initiative is jointly funded through the Office of Early Care and Education and the Department of Children, Youth, and their families. C-WAGES is designed to augment wages of and contribute to health and retirement benefits for early childhood teachers employed in the eligible licensed center- and home-based programs. Eligibility extends to programs where at least 25 percent of enrolled children are in families living below 75 percent of the state median income. Participation in C-WAGES also requires that programs establish standardized salary schedules, differentiated by job and education levels, and participate in quality rating and improvement activities. In 2016, 80 centers, representing 900 teachers, participated in C-WAGES. An additional 230 family child care providers and 75 of their paid employees also participated. (24) (25) (26)

• Nationally- Many state offer scholarships or student loan relief to students pursuing careers in Early Childhood Education. (29) These grants are made with the dual goals of both attracting more students to the profession while also mitigating the financial burden of the educational training needed to reach these goals. Virginia for example has an extensive scholarship program known as the Virginia Childcare Provider Scholarship program that helps to offset the cost of schooling for current or future ECE workers (28). Another approach is to offer ECE workers student loan forgiveness. Pennsylvania and Maine are two states that author ECE educators this incentive (29). Maine in particular offers a year of student loan forgiveness for each year a provider works in ECE. In fact, in some ECE areas with shortages of workers, such as speech pathology, the state even offers two years of forgiveness for each year of service. (30).

Current Tactics and Activities: 

Strategy 6 Action Plan (download here)

Strategy 7 Action Plan (download here)

Strategy 8 Action Plan - Coming Soon (download the Strategy 8 Action Transition Tools Document for Parents here)

Imperative #3's diverse and powerful Action Team now numbers 55 members, including:

• Detroit parent leaders
• Numerous child care business owners and early educators
• and partners from the following organizations:
  • Brainiacs Clubhouse
  • Brilliant Detroit
  • City of Detroit Education Commission
  • Detroit at Work
  • Detroit Champions for Hope
  • Detroit Edison Public Schools Academy
  • Detroit Public Schools Community District
  • Detroit Symphony Orchestra
  • Everybody Ready and Great Start Wayne
  • Living Arts Detroit
  • Matrix Head Start
  • New St. Paul
  • Starfish Family Services
  • United Children and Families
  • University of Michigan

Black Family Development, Inc. (BFDI) and the Early Childhood Investment Corporation (ECIC) are honored to serve as Co-Leads for Hope Starts Here Imperative #3. Learn more at hopestartsheredetroit.org.