Mayor Convenes Local Orgs to Discuss the Impact of ECE Investments

On January 10, Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson brought together representatives from the MKE Early Childhood Education (ECE) Coalition to discuss the impact of the city’s $7 million American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) investment into the ECE workforce. This much-needed funding, which the coalition advocated for and helped inform, includes wage stipends and efforts to strengthen and diversify pathways into the ECE workforce.

Milwaukee Succeeds’ ECE director, Daria Hall, participated in the conversation alongside representatives from Leading Men Fellows, MKE Rising, Malaika Early Learning Center, Proveedoras Unidas and the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association.

The prevailing theme of the meeting was that early education matters – for educational outcomes, for working families and for the economic competitiveness of the city. In the Mayor’s drive to bring more employers into the area, thereby creating more local jobs, quality early education is key. It is, in essence, the “workforce behind the workforce,” allowing more adults to work outside the home and setting their children up for a brighter future.

Currently, though, many Milwaukee families lack access to quality, affordable ECE, which is due in large part to the industry’s ongoing staffing challenges. Participants at the event shared their own personal struggles with recruiting and retaining qualified workers, with many citing low wages as a prime factor.

The wage stipend program, which was launched in November, was designed to bolster retention rates by increasing compensation. The program provides eligible early educators with up to $1,500 over three installments.

In order to address the widespread recruitment challenges, the city awarded ARPA funding to both Leading Men Fellows and MKE Rising, which share the goal of attracting more men of color into the ECE workforce. Their unique approaches involve providing hands-on classroom experience and professional development opportunities to prepare young men for a career in the classroom.

Fellows from both organizations, as well as a Leading Men Fellowship alumnus who is now an educator, were in attendance to discuss how the skills they’ve gained from the program have prepared them for roles in the classroom and in life, as well as importance of representation within the ECE workforce. The Mayor reciprocated by sharing his own experience of being a Black man in Milwaukee and how that’s informed his desire to grow the bench of Black leaders across the city – including in early education.

While this investment is indeed making an impact on the industry, the attendees stressed the continued need for blended state, city and other funding in order to expand access and support quality advancements. When asked how else the city could support the sector, participants came with a clear ask: Help us raise awareness of the importance of ECE and the vital role early educators play as brain builders for our youngest learners.