Panelists discuss early childhood education at United Way summer series

Panelists discuss early childhood education on July 27, 2022, at United Way of Central Indiana’s headquarters in Indianapolis.

The need for early childhood educators is high in Indiana, but the supply isn’t meeting the demand.  

And the gap is expected to widen: With a 30% annual turnover rate in the early care workforce, the state will be short nearly 10,000 educators over the next several years, Maureen Weber, president and CEO of Early Learning Indiana, said Wednesday.  

“The adults in the classroom have everything to do with the quality of the learning and whether we’re achieving the outcomes that we’re after for children,” she said. “It’s just critically important.” 

Speaking to a group gathered for a panel discussion on early childhood education, Weber outlined several ways Early Learning Indiana is trying to address the issue, including by partnering with stakeholders and higher education institutions to get more people into the field, prepare the workforce – and boost compensation for educators.  

“We have done things like offer very competitive sign-on bonuses and increased our compensation rates. It puts pressure on the whole market,” Weber said during the event held at United Way of Central Indiana’s headquarters in Indianapolis.  

“We have a lot of work to do across the entire sector, but I think this is the direction we have to go if we’re going to get the caliber of people that we would want leading these classrooms.”  

Wednesday’s event was the second discussion in a free, three-part educational series United Way is hosting leading up to the August appearance of Stephanie Land, bestselling author of the memoir “Maid.” Tickets are still available for Land’s keynote, “Maid for this Moment,” which will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Indiana Historical Society.  

Land’s book was adapted as a Netflix miniseries, “Maid,” in 2021. United Way’s educational series addresses three topics covered in the memoir and show: the “benefits cliff,” early childhood education and domestic violence survivorship.   

High-quality early childhood education is a major focus for United Way, which has worked for more than a decade to improve quality, opportunity and accessibility of early childhood education in Indiana.  

At Wednesday’s event, panelists addressed the importance of high-quality childcare, public policy, increasing demands for a larger workforce, the high cost of care and other challenges.  

High-quality care costs about $10,200 annually – more than a year’s tuition at a public state college, said Fabiha Islam, early childhood education specialist for United Way.  

“Now think about this for our most vulnerable neighbors – many of which are waiting for vouchers to come through where seats are extremely limited, only exacerbated by the COVID-19 heath crisis,” Islam said.  

Tuition is particularly high for infant and toddler care, and available seats are few.  

Much of a child’s brain is developed by the age of 3, “so that is an important part of a child’s life,” said Laura Dyke, co-director at Daystar Childcare and Infant Learning Center. “But yet in the state … there are very few seats for infants and toddlers, so it’s hard … for parents to find places for their children in high-quality settings.”  

Diane Pike, director of outreach and professional development at St. Mary's Early Childhood Center, said preschoolers are active, imaginative, social and curious. They’re scientists and explorers: “We have to honor that and make sure that we are giving them that chance to be that person.”  

Dyke said children have felt the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, and childcare providers are noticing that in the classroom. Educators began seeing more “challenging behaviors” and lost skills in children last year.  

“They’ve lost that time of social-emotional learning, which is even more difficult in learning to share, in learning to listen, in learning to get along with others,” Dyke said. “I think that is one of our biggest challenges right now.” 

About 2,300 Hoosier students received scholarships to attend pre-K in 2020-2021, according to the state. Indiana requires those On My Way Pre-K scholarships be funded with a 5% philanthropic match – or about $112 annually per student, Islam said.  

United Way funds that match in Central Indiana. Women United, one of the nonprofit’s giving societies, is trying to raise $22,400 to fund about 200 scholarships, said Colleen Pawlicki, communications chair for Women United. 

The local Women United chapter is the largest women's philanthropic society in Central Indiana, with more than 800 members donating over $3.6 million, Pawlicki said. The group has two signature causes: early childhood education and gender equity.  

The third panel discussion in United Way’s summer series, on domestic violence survivorship, will be held 5:30 to 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at United Way. Spots are still available.