Four Innovations that Give Me Hope

Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/four-innovations-that-give-me-hope/5018906/

Having worked in the early childhood field for over three decades, I’ve seen a lot of changes: The supply of child care services has increased ten-fold and the public respect for early childhood services has risen nearly as much. Despite these changes, certain challenges for our field have not been successfully addressed: Compensation for early childhood professionals is
still embarrassingly low and the quality of care offered in centers and family child care homes still ranges from most excellent to most awful.

Over the years there have been many developments which have helped chip away at these challenges: Center accreditation has given programs targets to achieve in showcasing the quality of their program; resource and referral agencies are working to upgrade the early childhood infrastructures of communities across the country; and the field continues to attract committed and creative individuals who work tirelessly to provide great environments for children and families. But the challenges of compensation and quality remain.

In recent years, four developments have occurred which give me hope that real progress can be made. In the title I refer to these developments as ‘innovations.’ But these are by no means new ideas; they are innovative ideas that have been around for ...