Meet Shay Jackson
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It’s June y’all, and the long-looming financial cliff is now three weeks away. On June 30, the federal funding that stabilized early childhood care and education during the pandemic will run out — unless we see a last-minute intervention from the General Assembly. We’re feeling that pressure, and we know you’re feeling it too.
That includes Shay Jackson, a 5-star licensed family child care provider in Forsyth County. Liz wrote about Shay’s experience in an article that I just loved this week.
After working as an assistant child care teacher, a lead teacher, a Head Start coordinator, a family advocate, a social worker in public schools, and for nonprofits and the Durham Partnership for Children, Shay opened Modern Early Learning Academy at her Winston-Salem home in 2022.
As Liz wrote:
Family child care providers are balancing several roles. They are the sole provider not only of care and education, but of food, transportation, and family support services. They are also administrators, making their own curriculum and assessment choices, and keeping up with licensing and reporting responsibilities. And they are business owners, managing the finances of their programs and collecting payments from families.
“That is the challenge — wearing all those different hats and having to manage all of that,” Jackson said. “Instead of comparing family child care providers to teachers, we need to be compared to directors.”
Now Shay Jackson is trying to figure out what she’ll do when she goes over the cliff: “I definitely don’t want to increase those prices, because it’s not fair to my families. I do feel like if I just add, like one or two kids for my second shifts, maybe do Uber Eats or something like that, maybe that will help kind of supplement … I don’t know. I wish I had an answer. I’m gonna try to stay in as long as I possibly can. I’m gonna try to maintain.”
Betsy Rodriguez, owner of KinderMission Academy in Guilford County, is also bracing herself for the cliff. I visited her center in High Point this week as it prepares to close its doors. Betsy is still figuring out what the future holds for her program, its diverse team of teachers, and the students and families they serve. I hope to bring you more about her story in the coming weeks as she figures out her next steps.
In the meantime, for those of you out there with the financial capacity to support the work of EdNC’s early childhood team, please consider donating. If now is not the time to support us financially, please consider taking our survey instead; tell EdNC what’s important to you as we plan our work for the next year. Either way, we’ll be here with you as the cliff approaches — and on the other side.
More from EdNC on early childhood
This family child care provider is working to ensure 'an invisible workforce' is seen — and preserved
Shalicia Jackson, also known as Shay, has done almost everything there is to do in early childhood education. Jackson has...Breaking down silos and building universal pre-K: Lessons from McDowell County Schools mission to put ‘students first’
Editor’s Note: Recently, EdNC published a book, titled “North Carolina’s Choice: Why our public schools matter.” Here is a free PDF of the...Perspective | For All the Children
Editor’s Note: The following is an excerpt of a speech, as well as an original poem, presented by North Carolina...Democratic legislative leaders call on budget writers to 'bridge the divide' as federal child care funds expire
Democratic leaders from both the House and Senate led a news conference Thursday calling for child care investment in this...The big picture for little kids
Legislative Updates
Democratic leaders from both the House and Senate recently held a news conference calling for child care investment in this year’s North Carolina budget.
“Increasingly, adequate access to these critical facilities is getting harder and harder for North Carolina families to find,” said Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake. “Child care is not just a convenience, it’s a foundational issue.”
Blue and Rep. Robert Reives, D-Chatham, called on legislators in their ongoing short session to extend stabilization grants.
“That money has been a lifeline for working families and the business community, ensuring that child care centers can continue to function and that working parents can make it work,” Reives said. “But with that money ending now, the state needs to step up and bridge the divide.”
Gov. Roy Cooper has been making his own calls for additional funding for early childhood education, visiting Creative Minds Preschool in Wilmington and Academically Based Child in Raleigh last week. With three weeks remaining before stabilization funds run out, the General Assembly has little time to act.
News & Research
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Why is Child Care So Expensive? What We Can Do About It. - From Early Learning Nation
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D.C. experimented with giving child care workers big raises. The project may not last - From Hechinger Report
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An Early Education Rebound: After COVID Disruptions, Report Shows Pre-K Enrollment Hitting Record Levels - From The 74 Million
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Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2023 - From National Women's Law Center
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Preparing North Carolina’s Children and Communities for Adverse Climate Experiences - From Smart Start
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Infant & Toddler Homelessness Across 50 States: 2021-2022 - From SchoolHouse Connection
Taking flight! Opportunities to spread your wings
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Early Efforts Webinar | Impact of State Policies on Family Resources - From Hunt Institute
From the organizer: June 17, 2024 at 1:00 PM
State policies have a significant impact on the amount of resources available to a young family. States’ policy choices lead to significant variation across states, leading to young families in D.C. and New Jersey having access to twice the resources as families in Georgia and Tennessee. Learn about which policies have the greatest impact on families, and how investments in the early years return big dividends. -
Understanding Reflective Supervision and It’s Value - From NCIMHA
From the organizers: June 13, 2024 at 12:00 PM
Participants will get a brief overview of what reflective supervision/consultation practice is and what research tells us about its value to professionals and programs supporting infants, toddlers, young children and those that care for them. Participants will enjoy a panel discussion that includes multi-disciplinary perspectives on the use and value of reflective supervision/consultation within multiple roles and programs.
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Fostering Integration in Early Childhood Settings: Implications for Policy - From Learning Policy Institute
From the organizers: June 18, 2024 at 2:30 PM
Research shows that racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically integrated learning environments can lead to academic and social benefits for children.
This webinar will illuminate the important, but often overlooked, problem of segregation in ECE settings. It will identify strategies that policymakers and administrators can use to foster integration, including establishing universal ECE programs, braiding public funding, allowing tuition-paying families to enroll in public programs, attracting families across neighborhoods or district boundaries, and creating two-way dual language immersion programs. Presenters will describe examples of cities and states putting these strategies into action.