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Ashley Cirone is a kindergarten teacher at Harrington Elementary School and 2024 Washington County Teacher of the Year.
The timeless saying “It takes a village to raise a child” has been reiterated for generations; however, in our state many families are lacking that proverbial village. Our state is facing a child care crisis, with a lack of options in our most rural areas, and facilities are closing due to rising operating costs.
And now I’m reading that Gov. Janet Mills is proposing to cut back the state’s current wage supports for child care workers, further reducing their compensation, which averages just $16.50 an hour. How in the world will Maine parents and communities find child care workers when employees can earn more at a retail or fast good establishment?
Early childhood education, particularly from birth to age 3, is a crucial component in a child’s development as it lays the foundation for a child’s future. During these years, a child’s brain undergoes rapid growth and development, making it a critical period for cognitive, emotional and social development. Seventy-five percent of a child’s brain development occurs in the first two years of life, with 90 percent of that development being laid by the time they turn 5.
Despite knowing this, we continue to focus on ways to primarily bolster K-12 education when we could be increasing access to quality early childhood education to provide our students with the best foundations and opportunities for early learning. Far too often when children come to school for the first time in pre-K (if your district is fortunate to have it at all) or kindergarten, it is their first social experience outside of the home. As you can imagine, this can produce many challenges solely as a result of being overwhelmed.
Now, imagine a world where community agencies and businesses partnered with public school systems to create high-quality early childhood education opportunities for our youngest of children, providing early care and education to children as early as 6 weeks old. Where teachers and families can begin a partnership from infancy and work together on fostering that child’s development. Sounds like a dream world, right?
That is exactly what Kennebec Valley Community Action Program has done in collaboration with MSAD 54 and Hight Family of Dealerships. This fall, the doors will open to the Hight Family Learning Center as part of the new Margaret Chase Smith Community School in Skowhegan. Here they will be providing critical early care and education to the infants and toddlers of their community, not just filling a critical need but also providing high-quality early education opportunities.
In 2023 the Maine Legislature created The Commission to Study Expansion of Public Preschool and Early Care and Education. Now Rep. Travis Hasenfus and Sen. Teresa Pierce are working on legislation to move the commission’s recommendations forward with a goal of establishing an equitable public preschool system that would provide universal access by the 2026-2027 school year.
While this forward movement is exciting, and a move in the right direction, I still wonder about our youngest citizens and their critical window of development from birth to 3. The “Right from the Start Coalition” has targeted this need with hopes that by 2030 all Maine families will have access to high quality early care and education. To accomplish this goal and make forward progress, it will need the help of all our community stakeholders.
So, consider this my call, as a public school kindergarten teacher, to ask school districts, businesses, and community agencies to think outside the box and work together to create more incredible partnerships designed to expand access to high-quality early care and education for all Maine children. Not only will this allow working parents access to much needed child care, it will further strengthen our communities by ensuring our families have that village surrounding them as they work so hard and raise happy and healthy children.
