Early childhood educators being left behind

Report shows low wages, poor benefits

A quality early childhood education is widely recognized as an important component of a child’s cognitive development as well as preparation for elementary school. Yet, as a society, we reward the people responsible for delivering early care and education with low wages and poor benefits.

While federal lawmakers consider mandating increases in the education levels of early care and education teachers, a report by the Center for the Child Care Workforce, a project of the American Federation of Teachers Educational Foundation (CCW/AFTEF), shows that wages for early care and education teaching staff rose a paltry 0.6 percent in 2003.

The report, Current Data on the Salaries and Benefits of the U.S. Early Childhood Education Workforce, reveals that only 18 occupations out of the 770 surveyed by the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported having lower mean wages than child care workers, whose mean hourly wage is $8.32. Among the professions making more are service station attendants, bicycle repairers and locker room attendants. Preschool teachers’ mean hourly wage is $10.67.

“The current data is important when talking about the realities of the workforce,” says CCW member Peggy Haack, a part-time child care provider, who also works part time at the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association as an outreach coordinator for the TEACH Early Childhood Wisconsin scholarship program.

It’s easier for lawmakers to support scholarships over wage enhancements for early childhood educators, Haack notes, adding that the two are not mutually exclusive in addressing the quality of early childhood education and care. If wages and benefits continue to lag, qualified early childhood educators will continue to leave family- and center-based programs for higher-paying jobs.

“If we are to attract and retain well-educated and better-trained early childhood education teachers, our nation must invest adequate resources to support this important workforce,” says Marci Young, director of CCW/AFTEF.

The full report is available at www.ccw.org.

Bus 'roadeos' highlight best drivers

AFT members among winners of international competition

Most city dwellers have faced the challenge of trying to parallel park in a tight space. Now imagine driving a full-size school bus and parallel parking it without hitting the curb or any barriers front and back—and ending up fewer than 18 inches from the curb.

That’s just one of many tests of driving skills that school bus drivers from around the country compete in each year in what are commonly called bus “roadeos.” Known more formally as the International Safety Competition, and sponsored by the National School Transportation Association, the king of all roadeos is held each summer in conjunction with the association’s annual convention.

As in years past, AFT members were well represented among the top finishers this year. Among the winners from the AFT’s PSRP ranks:

Small bus: Anne Woodring, fifth place, Nevada Classified School Employees Association, Washoe County chapter.

Conventional bus: Michael Rusnak, 23rd place, Orange (Fla.) Educational Support Personnel Association; Serena Yansak, 29th place, Pittsfield (Mass.) Federation of Teachers; and Tina Nickles, 33rd place, Nevada Classified School Employees Association, Churchill County chapter.

In addition to driving tests, which include precision steering, backing and negotiating through and around tight spaces, there are written tests.

“Even though there are other drivers, I feel as if I’m really out there competing against myself,” says Anne Woodring. “And it’s fun to do.”

Woodring and her Nevada colleague Tina Nickles have been driving buses and competing in roadeos for longer than most high school kids have been alive. Now in her 36th year as a driver, Nickles entered her first competition in 1975. “I got into it to see how good a driver I was,” she says. “I found out that I had a knack for it, and I just kept doing it.” Woodring is a 25-year veteran driver who started competing about 10 years after Nickles. Interestingly, the best national finish for both of them over the years has been second place.

Even though the drivers know what the courses and events will be like, at competitions outside their local district they never know exactly what kind of bus will be used. “That,” Woodring notes, “can be very challenging.”

Woodring sees the roadeos as a positive way to show the public their dedication to being the best possible drivers behind the wheel. “School bus drivers don’t always get recognition for the good things they do,” she says. “When people hear about us in the media, it’s always negative stuff.”

Just let them try to parallel park one of those buses and see how it goes.