Indiana’s Children Deserve Educated Educators

By Jen Palmer, INAEYC Member

When I entered the early childhood profession, I had limited formal education.

Today, I hold an Associate Degree, Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree in Early Childhood Education, and a Graduate Certificate in Early Childhood Program Administration.

The more I learned, the better educator I became.

That is why I am deeply concerned about Indiana’s proposal to lower educational requirements for some of the professionals entrusted with caring for and educating our youngest children.

As someone who has lived both sides of this issue, I know firsthand that education matters.

I learned how children’s brains develop. I learned how to recognize developmental delays. I learned how to support language development, social-emotional growth, positive behavior, and family engagement. I learned how to create environments that support learning, safety, and healthy development.

Most importantly, I learned that caring for young children is about much more than supervision.

Early childhood educators are often the first professionals to recognize speech delays, developmental concerns, behavioral challenges, vision problems, hearing issues, trauma, or family stressors. They help children learn how to regulate emotions, build relationships, solve problems, and develop the skills needed for kindergarten and beyond.

That knowledge does not happen by accident.

It comes from education, training, and professional preparation.

Some of the proposed rule changes would lower educational requirements for child care directors and reduce qualification requirements for lead caregivers responsible for the daily care and development of young children.

That raises an important question.

If we recognize the importance of educated kindergarten teachers, why would we move in the opposite direction for the professionals caring for children just one or two years younger?

Indiana does not even require children to attend kindergarten. Yet we require kindergarten teachers to earn degrees, complete student teaching, and demonstrate professional competency because we understand that education matters.

The science of child development tells us that the years before kindergarten are not less important. In fact, they are some of the most important years of brain development a child will ever experience.

The adults caring for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers are helping build the foundation upon which kindergarten teachers will later build.

When health care costs rise, we do not lower the qualifications of doctors. We do not decide surgeons need less education because the system is expensive. We understand that expertise matters.

In fact, when something is important, we usually ask for more preparation, not less.

Why should early childhood education be any different?

Neuroscience tells us that nearly 90% of brain development occurs before age five. Early childhood educators are often called “brain builders” because the experiences children have during these years literally shape the architecture of the developing brain.

Every conversation, every book read, every problem solved, every comforting response to a child’s emotions helps build neural connections that support future learning, behavior, and health.

If we recognize that the first five years are the most important years of brain development, why would we lower educational expectations for the professionals working during those critical years?

Some will argue that these changes are necessary because child care is struggling.

They’re right about one thing: child care is struggling.

Families cannot afford to pay more. Educators cannot afford to earn less. Providers are caught in the middle, trying to make the numbers work.

When I opened my child care center five years ago, I advertised positions starting at $9 to $11 per hour. I remember being criticized in local community groups. People asked, “Who can afford to live on that?”

The truth is, they were right.

No one should have to live on those wages.

But what many people didn’t understand was that I wasn’t paying what educators were worth. I was paying what the economics of child care would support.

Today, our teachers earn between $14 and $20 per hour, depending on their education, experience, and role within our program. We have worked hard to improve compensation because our teachers deserve it.

Yet despite higher tuition and higher wages, the math is still challenging.

That is why I struggle with the argument that lowering educational requirements will somehow solve the child care crisis.

The child care crisis was not caused by educators being too qualified.

The child care crisis was not caused by teachers earning degrees.

The child care crisis was not caused by professional development.

Lowering standards does not fix the economics of child care. It simply lowers expectations for the people entrusted with our youngest children.

Today, my program employs a licensed Pre-K teacher, and several of our infant and toddler teachers hold associate degrees in early childhood education. We invest in professional development because we believe children deserve educated educators.

The proposed changes will not reduce my tuition.

They will not reduce my operating costs.

They will not change my commitment to quality.

What they may do is send a message that less preparation is needed for one of the most important professions in our society.

Indiana’s children deserve better.

We do not need fewer qualified educators.

We need more.

We do not need lower standards.

We need stronger pathways into the profession, workforce scholarships, better compensation, and policies that support both families and providers.

The answer to Indiana’s child care crisis is not to lower expectations for the people entrusted with building young brains.

The answer is to invest in them.

Because early childhood education is not babysitting.

It is education.

And Indiana’s children deserve educated educators.