A push for salary parity in early childhood education

A group of children with a teacher

A group of children with a teacher Shutterstock

By Zach Williams

|

TADA! Youth Theater has received a $35,000 grant from The Pinkerton Foundation. The money will help fund a free theater training program for dozens of youth participants, according to a Feb. 20 press release. The New York City-based nonprofit has staged about 45 musical productions since 1984.

 

Picture the Homeless is behind a new #FreeToPee campaign. The effort focuses on expanding access to public accommodations for homeless people and others. A recent feature in City Limits details efforts to reopen a long-shuttered public restroom in East Harlem – and some elected officials are now getting behind the effort:

 

Montefiore Medical Center has received a $190,000 contract from the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. The money will fund medical and mental health services for children, according to the City Record. Astoria Queens Sharing and Caring received a $273,437 contract to provide mental health services for adults on behalf of the agency.

 

A New York nonprofit leader will be asking the questions at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington, D.C. Jeremy Kohomban, president and CEO of The Children’s Village, will moderate a Feb. 23 panel on “rethinking child welfare.” Panelists include writer Sean Anders, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin – who has nine children – and Donna Edwards, the first lady of Louisiana. They will discuss how child welfare systems can confront aggravating factors like homelessness, food insecurity, and drug addiction, according to the agenda for the four-day meeting of governors from across the country.

 

A Manhattan street will be named in honor of an immigrant woman who started a safe haven in her home for children. Flor Maria Miolan settled in New York City after fleeing violence in her native Dominican Republic in 1962. After her youngest daughter was born with Down syndrome, she opened her home to children whose parents could not take care of them – raising about 100 in all, according to a Feb. 20 press release from City Councilman Ydanis Rodriguez.

“The parents would drop off the children and no questions were asked,” reads the press release, “other than the child’s name and birthdate. She had a servant’s heart and became a neighborhood staple, known in the street as ‘Mami Flor’ because she was everybody’s mother. Flor Maria gave them unconditional love.” A Feb. 23 co-naming ceremony will take place from 2:22 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. at 184th St. and Audubon Ave., according to the press release.

 

The Citizens Committee for Children is making a new push for “salary parity” in early childhood education. This effort focuses on closing the salary gap between teachers who officially work for the city and those who work for nonprofits that provide early childhood services on its behalf. A recent op-ed in the Gotham Gazette has the details on what advocates are looking for in the upcoming city budget.

“Mayor de Blasio is seeking to solidify his place as a progressive rising star of national importance by pointing to New York City’s continued progress on early education as illustrative of how to make big cities fairer,” CCC Executive Director Jennifer March writes. “It is critical that he brings true fairness to the city’s early education workforce and makes salary parity a reality. There is no greater opportunity to ensure that the city’s children are prepared for school success than by equitably compensating the workforce that supports and nurtures their growth.”

A new video also makes a stab at explaining the issue:

NEXT STORY: A series of statewide hearings are addressing the upcoming U.S. Census