A Snapshot of ECE Teachers in Milwaukee
Who are Milwaukee’s early care and education (ECE) teachers? What motivates them, and why are they choosing to leave the profession?
Thanks to new Milwaukee-specific data, gathered from ECE group centers in 2020 and 2021, we’ve finally been able to assemble concrete answers to these pressing questions and gain new insight into our vital but struggling ECE workforce.
Behind the Data
In December, the Department of Children and Families, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association and the Institute of Research on Poverty at UW-Madison released a series of reports which dove into the lives of ECE teachers throughout the state. Milwaukee Succeeds and the Milwaukee ECE Coalition received access to Milwaukee-specific data from these reports, allowing them to create a snapshot of educators in Milwaukee. (En Español)
“In the past, we’ve only ever had this depth of information at the state level,” says Kristin Kappelman, the ECE data analyst at Milwaukee Succeeds, who spearheaded the creation of the Milwaukee report. “Being able to have this local information is really important for the work we’re doing.”
Report Findings
“We kind of had a sense anecdotally who our teachers are and what their demographics were,” Kristin says. “But it’s great to have this new data and be able to say with certainty: This is who our ECE teachers are.”
In Milwaukee, 99% of center-based teachers are female, while 61% are Black or Brown.
76% have some college education or a degree, with 27% having a bachelor’s degree or higher.
Despite teachers’ high levels of education, centers can only afford to pay them about $13/hour. (Yet at many big box stores, they could start at $15/hour.)
45% live in a household that receives public health benefits, while 40% live in a household that receives FoodShare or SNAP benefits.
44% are worried that their household might run out of food.
Yet, despite the low pay and concerns over food and benefits, Milwaukee’s educators are committed to ECE because it is their career or profession. But that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll stay. In fact, over a third anticipate leaving the field within two years.
The Story of an ECE Teacher
Maya Bass, an educator at JO’s Learning Academy, is a prime example of the struggles facing Milwaukee’s ECE teachers. Maya has been working in childcare centers since high school and always knew that she wanted to go into teaching. In 2014 she achieved her associate degree, and in 2021 she graduated with a bachelor’s in education.
“To go through all of that and sometimes to still be in the paycheck-to-paycheck run…can be a little disheartening,” Maya says. “Even though we do this for the love of the children, we still have to pay all the bills that everybody else does.”
Throughout her career, there were times where she’s had to supplement her income by babysitting for families or working in restaurants. Since having a family of her own, though, this has no longer been an option. There have also been instances where she’s had to rely on public benefits, especially during the pandemic.
Like hundreds of other educators throughout the city, Maya has remained in ECE because of the children, and because she loves what she does. Yet she knows that her family’s needs are going to change and grow – and that her current wages might not be enough to support them.
“I have thought, in the future will I have to leave in order to make more money to give my kids what I feel like they need?”
The Impact on Children and Families
With so many educators leaving the industry, staffing challenges are becoming a major concern for Milwaukee’s centers.
According to Dave Linsmeier, executive director of Mary Linsmeier Schools, “Hiring and training – especially in the last few years – have been really tough. We’ve been doing everything we can to figure out how to attract people. But it’s more than that. How do we keep the people we have?”
Being short-staffed can have ripple effects throughout the organization, including limiting the number of slots available for children. It may also mean that the quality of the program suffers. ECE centers invest considerable time and resources into training their staff. So when those staff leave, centers “have to start from square one,” says Dave.
High staff turnover also impedes the relationship-building that’s necessary to create a stable environment for children and families.
“If you have teachers who are leaving every few months,” says Kristin, “that's not good for the development of young children.”
Dave adds that he’s seen considerable strain amongst parents. “They want consistent care for their kids,” he says. “They want to have that communication and establish meaningful relationships.”
What Needs to be Done
It’s clear that an influx of resources is needed to grow and sustain high-quality ECE programs throughout the city. The state’s Child Care Counts grants, intended to stabilize the industry in the wake of COVID, are an example of what public dollars can do.
“We were always on a shoestring budget,” Dave says. “And the dollars that we're getting from Child Care Counts are really making a difference. It’s amazing.”
The Mary Linsmeier Schools have been able to utilize the funds to provide raises for staff, increasing their wages by over $3 an hour.
In addition to boosting pay and benefits, increasing resources into the industry can help provide the training and tools that teachers need, and facilitate the creation of a sustainable pipeline of workers into the field.
“Teachers need to be trained to help children and families through difficult times,” says Maya. “Kids are going through so much emotionally, and we’re expected to be their emotional support. They’re coming to us because we know them and we love them, but we’re not always fully equipped for that.”
An increase in funding could mean an increase in access to social and emotional learning and mental health trainings to help educators better meet children’s emotional needs.
Training could also take the form of leadership courses for staff. According to Dave, retaining staff requires creating a positive environment and healthy relationships between leaders and staff. That’s why Mary Linsmeier Schools used grant money to send their directors through a 7-month training course that equipped them with the skills necessary to support educators.
Increasing funding into aligned programming, like Leading Men Fellows and Milwaukee Rising, can also help expand and diversify pipelines into the ECE workforce, Kristin adds. “They’re specifically trying to bring in young men of color and get them into the ECE profession.”
The Impact of High-Quality ECE
Early childhood education is essential to a city’s well-being, and it sets children up for long-term success later in life. Plus, put simply, it’s a positive environment for children – and for staff.
“I feel like we’re a happy field, despite all the challenges,” Maya says. “I mean, you give us toilet tissue rolls and we’re making rain sticks. Those are fun people, right? Our work environment is very happy, and we try to keep it that way for the kids.”
So how do we make early childhood education a priority in Milwaukee?
“I think the biggest thing is just thinking about how to use this data to advocate, to make changes that we need to see in the ECE space,” says Kristin. “It's really important to think through this data and use it when you're talking to people just so that everyone knows this is what it means to be an ECE teacher in Milwaukee.”
