Vital Communities: Celebrating Early Childhood Education

April 6 Event Celebrates Early Childhood Educators 

Fun for all ages at event marking the Week of the Young Child    

Early childhood education providers and all the people who rely on them – which is everyone, actually! – are invited to the Week of the Young Child Kick-Off Celebration, on Saturday, April 6, 10 am to noon, at Colburn Park in downtown Lebanon (rain date: Sunday, April 7, 10 am to noon). 

The event is free and open to the public. Pre-registration is not required but is encouraged to help the organizers plan for the event. Go to vitalcommunities.org/woyc-celebration/ for information and registration. 

Organized and hosted by the Early Care and Education Association, Vital Communities, and the City of Lebanon’s Department of Recreation, Arts, and Parks, the event will feature fun activities for all ages, live music, child safety resources, a fire truck tour, food to purchase, and special activities to pamper the people who help young children develop, whether in a center or home-based early childhood education program.  Sponsors include the Couch Family Foundation, Dartmouth College, and the City of Lebanon.   

The event is a local celebration of the Week of the Young Child, an annual celebration sponsored by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), the world's largest early childhood education association, with nearly 60,000 members and a network of 51 Affiliates.  The 2024 Week of the Young Child is April 6-12.  

The purpose of the Week of the Young Child is to focus public attention on the needs of young children and their families and to recognize the early childhood programs and services that meet those needs.  

Upper Valley employers and families both name access to high-quality, affordable childcare as one of the key barriers to prosperity in our region, especially for low- and moderate-income families. The cost of licensed childcare for a family with just one infant is equivalent to 16% of the median family income, more than twice of the 7% the federal government considers affordable; and an estimated 800 slots for enrollment in early childcare centers remain unfilled due to staffing shortages.   

A 2022 survey of providers found that in New Hampshire, 87% of childcare centers are experiencing a staffing shortage as well as 71% of childcare centers in Vermont. In the Upper Valley, of 25 childcare centers recently surveyed, 80% responded that staffing shortages as the reason they are enrolling fewer children; close to 90 early educator positions are vacant within those 25 centers. If families can’t access care, parents can’t return to work, which affects not only those parents but all the businesses, offices, health care facilities, schools, and other places of employment that are struggling to fill positions.  

Early childhood educators report that they not getting lunch breaks, are dealing with difficult situations they are not trained for, and are getting UTIs because they can’t take a bathroom break without breaching required teacher to child ratios, according to stories collected by the Early Childhood Education Initiative.   

“Early childhood educators have not had the respect and support they deserve,” said Dr. Joanne Roberts, lead consultant for the initiative. “They are a child’s first teachers beside the child’s parents. The work they do not only impacts a child’s life from birth through five years but also a child’s success in school and the rest of their lives.”    

Vital Communities started the Early Childhood Education Initiative following a two-session symposium in November 2021 at which families, employers, childcare providers, and social service staff testified to a crisis in childcare.  Early Childhood Education Initiative Steering Committee oversees two working groups, one charged with advocating for policies and investments to support the increase of high-quality, accessible, and affordable early childhood education; and the other focused on strategies to help providers recruit and retain staff and cover their operational costs.  

The Early Care and Education Association is network of center-based providers in the Upper Valley that aims to ensure that every child and family has equitable access to quality early care and education and to increase and sustain the respect for early childhood educators.  

CALENDAR ITEM 

Week of the Young Child Kick-Off Celebration 
Saturday, April 6, 10 am to noon (rain date: Sunday, April 7, 10 am to noon) 

Colburn Park in downtown Lebanon 

Free, but pre-registration is encouraged  

Register at vitalcommunities.org/woyc-celebration/  

The whole community is welcome to celebrate early childhood educators at this event with fun activities for all ages, live music, child safety resources, a fire truck tour, food to purchase, and special activities to pamper ECE providers. Co-hosted by the Early Care and Education Association, Vital Communities' Early Childhood Education Initiative, and the City of Lebanon’s Department of Recreation, Arts, and Parks. Sponsored by the Couch Family Foundation, Dartmouth College, and the City of Lebanon. 
  

### 

Vital Communities cultivates the civic, environmental and economic vitality of the Upper Valley. We bring people together, bridging boundaries and engaging our whole community to create positive change. Learn more at vitalcommunities.org.