To the editor:

Early childhood education professionals are undervalued.

We are entrusted to provide high-quality, educational and developmental learning environments for young children. We help young children learn and develop the important skills needed to be successful, lifelong learners that families rely on. Despite all this, the education profession, in general, is greatly undervalued and underpaid.

In addition to this, unlike K-12 education professionals, highly-trained early childhood educators often earn salaries at or below minimum wage with no benefits. Educators of preschool children also do not qualify for reimbursement or the ability to claim purchases made for our classrooms, for tax purposes. This makes it harder for educators to make the most of the learning environment, it is a challenge for teachers to spend from their own, already-low salary, to purchase adequate supplies for their classrooms.

Furthermore, childcare centers are faced with increasing operating fees and tuition costs for families needing to be kept affordable. Higher tuitions make it difficult for families to find quality childcare and causes additional financial stress. This results in the unavailability to provide increased wages or benefits for employees, or to purchase additional learning materials.

In conclusion, there is a great need for early childhood education professionals to be given the validation we deserve. After all, we are not babysitters, we provide care and education for young children, so they have a strong learning foundation to be the successful future leaders of America.

Rose Marie Gonzalez

Fort Myers