2021-Leaders-United-Quarterly-Q3-ReaderSpreads-v5 - Flipbook - Page 4
consists of hundreds of partners working to
ensure students have the support needed to be
successfully reading by third grade. And a main
pillar of that work starts with our early childhood
educators.
Too many teachers in our community face wage
and benefits disparities, incongruent professional
standards and a lack of career mobility. Our
early educators are providing the foundation
for our community success, and they deserve
to be compensated accordingly. That’s why the
Blueprint partners are working to create clear,
equitable career pathways and to advocate for
salary standards for early educators.
importance of social-emotional development,
early childhood literacy, connecting with families
and day-to-day modeling.
To date, we support 34 three- to five-year-old
classrooms across 10 community partner sites,
including:
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Eighteenth Avenue Family Enrichment Center
Fannie Battle Day Home for Children
First Steps, Inc.
King’s Daughters Child Development Center
St. Luke’s Community House
Saint Mary Villa Child Development Center
The McNeilly Center for Children
Wayne Reed Christian Childcare Center
15th Avenue Learning Academy North at
Bethlehem Center
• Schrader Lane Vine Hill Childcare Center
Kids and families at each site receive access
to outdoor green space, a variety of books in
the classroom and books to take home, the
opportunity to engage outside classroom hours
and curricula that’s based in academic and
social-emotional research. Each site also has
lending libraries, access to technology, quality
professional development and an instructional
coach.
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Unite d Way of Greater Nas h v i l l e
It’s so important that we give teachers
opportunities to continue their professional
development so that they feel qualified and
empowered to provide the best care and
instruction possible. We do this by offering weekly
and individualized trainings that teach the value
of social-emotional learning, trauma-informed
practices, diversity, equity and inclusion, outdoor
play and academic best practices.
Paying Teachers a Livable Wage
Since 2019, United Way has been working with
the Blueprint for Early Childhood Success, a
community movement that’s working toward
literacy justice for all children. The Blueprint
There’s often a direct correlation between a
teacher’s characteristics (education, experience,
energy, enthusiasm, etc.) and student success.
So, when our community isn’t retaining highquality teachers, our kids suffer. And low wages
often prevent sites from attracting and retaining
those high-quality teachers. In Nashville,
childhood sites struggle to pay their teachers
wages that match the high cost of living here.
Even revenues from parent fees, child care
subsidies, scholarships, etc., are insufficient
to cover the costs to compensate staff fairly—
causing many credentialed early childhood
professionals to leave community sites in search
of higher wages. This can result in the closure of
nonprofit or community-based sites, fewer early
childhood seats for children and teachers rapidly
leaving the profession altogether. All of these
barriers curtail our chances of giving kids the
early literacy education they deserve.
That’s why Blueprint partners are working
to advance policy and systems so that early
educators are receiving a fair and livable wage.
U nited Way of Greater Nas h ville
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