Having spent years teaching young children, I understand the misconceptions surrounding early childhood educators. Whether referred to as childcare providers, daycare workers, or preschool staff, these professionals are indeed teachers. They hold the necessary licenses, permits, and training to educate and care for young children.
Despite their qualifications, early childhood educators often receive the lowest salaries in the education sector. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for preschool teachers in the U.S. is just $37,120. Additionally, these educators frequently find themselves ineligible for discounts intended for teachers. When attempting to use these discounts, they are often told they do not qualify. This exclusion is not deliberate but occurs because verification systems have not been designed to recognize early childhood educators.
It’s Not Really the Brands’ Fault
For brands offering teacher discounts, a reliable method to confirm a teacher’s status is essential. In the K-12 system, this is straightforward with district emails, state licenses, and a long-established national database. However, for preschool or infant-toddler teachers at small centers, family childcare homes, or nonprofits, such infrastructure is absent. The verification vendors aren’t biased; they simply lack the resources to verify these educators.
The Real Issue Starts With How “Early Education” Is Classified
The core of the issue lies in the classification of early education in the United States. Since 1969, education and care for children from birth to age 5 have been treated as a social service, managed under the Department of Health and Human Services instead of the Department of Education. This classification excludes early childhood education from the Department of Education’s budget and national systems, resulting in a fragmented patchwork of state-regulated permits, licenses, and registries. This fragmented approach denies brands a single national database to verify educators, even though many hold advanced degrees and permits.
This classification wasn’t accidental. It reflects a longstanding perception of early education as care work, often seen as women’s work or work performed by women of color, and thus treated as unskilled labor rather than a respected profession.
The Research Is Clear: Preschool Teachers Are Educators
Research has shown that this perception is incorrect. According to Harvard’s Center on the Developing Child, a child’s brain forms over a million new neural connections every second in the early years. The “soft skills” like curiosity, focus, intrinsic motivation, and self-regulation, once underestimated, are now seen as foundational and are fostered in early-year classrooms by these educators. In 2015, the National Academies of Sciences recognized educators of children from birth through age 8 as a highly skilled workforce. Nobel laureate James Heckman’s research indicates that high-quality programs for children aged birth to 5 yield a 13% return on investment per child annually.
Despite being educators, preschool teachers are the lowest-paid. UC Berkeley’s Early Childhood Workforce Index reports that the median wage for early childhood educators is $13.07 per hour, with 43% of their families relying on public assistance. These are the individuals most in need of discounts, yet they are often overlooked.
Change Is Coming, and Brands Can Help Lead It
The perception of early childhood education is evolving. In 2020, New Mexico established a cabinet-level Early Childhood Education and Care Department, and is working on a statewide workforce registry. Washington, D.C., now mandates lead teachers to have at least an associate degree and supports them through an Early Childhood Educator Pay Equity Fund. State by state, the workforce is gaining recognition.
However, brands don’t need to wait for all states to catch up. The verification issue is already solvable: Services now exist that can authenticate early childhood educators, including CDA holders and licensed family childcare providers, using pay stubs, licenses, and center records rather than a K-12 login. Some companies have already begun utilizing services like Verifypass.com to include early childhood educators.
Therefore, I request that when you create a teacher discount program, you define “teacher” in accordance with data and research by including those who educate young children. Preschool teachers are teachers, and with scientific evidence supporting this, it’s time for teacher discount programs to follow suit.
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