Early childhood educators are leaving the profession, but local school boards are positioned to help their communities keep them.
Verjeana McCotter-Jacobs
Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, National School Boards Association
Long before a child ever steps into a kindergarten classroom, some of the most crucial years of their education are already unfolding. Between ages 1 and 5, a child’s brain is growing faster than at any other point in life. What happens during these early years sets the stage for everything that follows, from learning how to read to learning how to get along with others.
Yet, the people we rely on to guide our youngest children are reaching a breaking point.
Across the country, early childhood programs, including those run directly by local public school districts, are facing severe staffing shortages and overwhelming teacher burnout. When underpaid and overworked preschool teachers leave the profession, children lose the stability they desperately need, and when early learning centers close their doors or cut seats, parents are forced to cut back their working hours or drop out of the workforce entirely.
Learning beyond the classroom
Early learning isn’t just about learning ABCs and 123s. For a 3- or 4-year-old, the most important lesson is learning how to handle big feelings — how to manage frustration, share, settle disagreements, and show empathy. When young children learn to manage their emotions early, they walk into kindergarten ready to learn. Classrooms are calmer, learning happens faster, and elementary teachers face far less stress.
However, learning can’t end when the school day finishes. Kids learn at the dinner table, on the playground, and during weekend trips to the local library. When parents and neighborhoods are active partners in a child’s early years, kids arrive at kindergarten ready to succeed.
This is where local school board members come in.
How local communities can help
While a school board’s traditional job is overseeing local K-12 public schools, board members know that a child’s success in third-grade reading or eighth-grade math starts long before kindergarten. Pre-K and K-12 are not two separate worlds; they are two halves of the same educational journey.
Because school board members are your neighbors, fellow parents, and local leaders, they are uniquely positioned to connect these worlds. They advocate for better pay and support for early educators, push for district programs that teach life skills like emotional control, and team up with local providers so that every child experiences a smooth, supported transition into kindergarten.
If we want strong public schools and thriving local economies, we cannot wait until age 5 to start caring about public education. By empowering our local school boards, backing our early educators, and helping families nurture learning inside and outside the classroom, we give every child the strong start and successful future they deserve.
